Postcards
by Tardis19
Summary: Stored in a keepsake box in her closet were a handful of postcards sent to her by the boy with whom she'd fallen in love; a boy who lived on the other side of the country. This is a story of love. Fate brought them together, but will the love they built from afar withstand when distance no longer separates them? Teen fic/AU/M
1. Chapter 1

A/N: I know, I know. It's been forever since I've posted a new story, and I apologize for that. Real life got in the way, my muse took a several month long vacation, and I just couldn't find it in me to write anything worth posting. So, I'll let you get on the with the new story.

Oh, and I'll be posting every Saturday, and a huge thanks to my beta, Heather, for fixing all my errors and coming up with an awesome summary.

* * *

"Rise and shine, Bells!" Dad hollered, and I let out a groan. The sun had just risen, not to mention that it was chilly, and I really didn't feel like spending my morning out on the lake fishing.

"C'mon, kiddo! Your tea and Pop Tarts are going to get cold."

Grumbling to myself, I tossed back the top portion of my sleeping bag, shoved my feet into my flip flops, and unzipped my tent.

Every summer my dad insisted on torturing me for the two months I spent with him. Two months of camping in tents, getting eaten by bugs, and fishing way too early in the morning.

Secretly though, I didn't mind it all that much. I rarely got to see my dad since I lived in Jacksonville, Florida, and he lived in Phoenix, Arizona. Sure, I saw him every other holiday, but ever since my mom had moved us to Florida when I was ten, I'd missed being near him.

"Eat," Dad said, shoving the paper plate at me and setting a cup of tea in front of me on the rickety picnic table.

As I ate, I watched him check his tackle box before putting it in the boat that was hitched to the back of the Jeep. My dad lived for fishing, and he didn't get to do a whole lot of it in Phoenix mainly because he didn't have much time. Dad was the captain of the Desert Palms police precinct, and that kept him pretty busy. Yet every summer, he took a two month long vacation and spent it with me. This year, Dad had taken me to Arcadia National Park in Bar Harbor, Maine, and it was gorgeous.

Finishing up my breakfast, I climbed back into my tent to throw on jeans, a t-shirt, and a hoodie. It was in the sixties, for the moment, and I knew it would be chilly on the lake for a few hours still.

Twenty minutes later, Dad was maneuvering the boat to a secret location that one of the park rangers had told him had the best fishing.

"Bet I can catch my five fish before you," he said with a grin as I hooked a worm to my fishing rod. I rolled my eyes at him before telling him he was on. Dad and I always had a running bet on who could catch their fish first, and whoever lost had to gut and clean them. I really hated losing.

As we fished in the cool morning, I caught Dad up on what had been going on in my life. Sadly, it wasn't much. I'd done well in school like usual, and I'd gotten a part-time job during the school year so I could pay for my own stuff.

"What about boys?" he asked, and I wrinkled my nose at his question.

"There aren't any," I said quietly.

"What about that one guy you were seeing? Gerald or Jerry or –"

"Jake?" I asked, and Dad nodded. "Oh, that's been over for months. He's a nice guy, but he's definitely not boyfriend material. He would act all stupid and immature whenever his friends were around."

Dad let out a snort.

"That's a teenage boy for you. Well, you don't need a boyfriend right now anyway. Focus on school for the time being," he told me, and I nodded, having heard it before from both of my parents.

They'd been high school sweethearts who had gotten married straight out of high school and had me before either of them was twenty. It had been rough for them, but they'd believed they'd make it . . . until they didn't. They'd divorced when I was three, and they had shared custody of me, but I lived with my mom. My mom, as much as I loved her, was flighty though and not the most stable of parents. She never remembered to pay her bills on time, she was always doing projects or taking community classes for something, and she tended to have a different boyfriend every month. Basically, I was the adult in our household, and it drove me insane some days.

"Your mom said that you were having some trouble with a girl at school."

I let out a sigh and silently cursed my mom.

"Yeah, Leah. She's a bit of a raging witch who likes to harass me every once in a while. It's no big deal. I promise," I told him which was true. Turned out that Leah had been harboring a crush on Jake, and once we'd broken up, she'd left me alone.

I felt a tug on my line a few seconds later, and I let out a whoop as I pulled up a rather large bass.

"Looks like you're gonna be cleaning my catch," I taunted, and Dad let out a growl.

In the end though, he caught all of his before I did, and I let out a groan.

As he steered the boat back toward the dock, I did my best to wheel and deal my way out of gutting and cleaning, but it was no use. Dad just laughed his ass off at me and told me I'd better do a good job.

Once we were docked, I made my way toward the cleaning station and got to work, trying not to grimace at the feel of fish guts on my hands.

"Oh man," a voice said from behind me. "That looks so gross."

I looked over my shoulder to see a huge teenage guy standing behind me, and I told him it was gross.

"Think I can have some of those guts?" he asked, and I stopped what I was doing and just stared at him.

"What in the world for?"

A wicked looking grin crossed his face. "To put them in my sister's sleeping bag. It would totally freak her out."

In that moment, I was incredibly glad that I was an only child.

"Emmett McCarty Cullen! Get over here now!" a woman called out, and I watched as the tips of his ears turned red.

"Aw man, she middle named me," he muttered before tossing a wave my way and walking off.

I stood there for a moment watching as he walked away. I couldn't remember ever having a weirder experience.

"Everything okay, Bells?" Dad asked me, and I looked at him as he walked toward me.

"Uh, I think so. That kid asked me if he could have these fish guts to put in his sister's sleeping bag," I told Dad, shaking my head in disbelief.

Dad barked out a laugh. "I bet he's a troublemaker."

A little while later, after we were back at camp, I gathered up my shower kit, towel, and some clean clothes, and began my walk toward the bathhouse. It was located around the bend from where our campsite was and housed the showers and toilets. Something I was incredibly grateful for. There was nothing I hated more than having to use a port-a-john.

I was halfway to the bathhouse when I heard the loud booming voice of the guy who'd asked me for the fish guts, and I heard a female squealing a few minutes later. Seemed as if he'd found a way to torture his sister after all.

After a quick shower that cost me four quarters with limited hot water, I got dressed and gathered up my belongings.

As I exited the shower area, I saw a girl around my age standing at the sink, trying to wash something off her shirt.

"Stupid oaf," she muttered. "I cannot believe he did that."

"It wasn't fish guts was it?" I asked her, and she turned to face me.

"What?"

"Your brother did that, right?" I asked. "Huge guy with dimples named Emmett?"

She nodded.

"I saw him earlier at the marina, and he wanted some fish guts to put in your sleeping bag," I told her, and her mouth dropped open.

"That shithead! I'm so going to get him!" she scowled. "As for this, he threw peanut butter at me."

"Makes me glad to be an only child," I commented, and she let out a snort.

"I have two brothers. You can have one if you want."

"No thanks," I told her before holding out a hand and introducing myself.

"Alice Cullen," she said, shaking my hand.

We chatted as she finished cleaning her shirt and then began walking toward our respective campsites. I learned that she was seventeen, from a small town in Washington called Port Angeles, and that she absolutely loved shopping.

"Oh, this is my place," she said, stopping near a small sign that had the number twelve on it.

"I'm down the road at sixteen," I told her. "Feel free to stop by whenever you want."

She let out a laugh. "I'll definitely take you up on that."

After I got back, I told Dad about meeting Alice, and he shook his head and grinned.

"It always amazes me how you manage to make friends at every campground we go to."

It was true. I tended to make friends easily, and it was no different when I was camping. Heck, I'd had my first kiss at a campground when I was twelve with a boy from Ohio. Even now, almost five years later, and we still kept in touch. As a matter of fact, I kept in touch with most of the people that I'd befriended throughout my summers of camping. It had almost become a tradition.

* * *

"What's wrong?" I asked Alice as she made her way into my campsite and took a seat across from me at the picnic table.

We'd spent the better part of the week hanging out and getting to know one another, and we'd become fast friends.

"Edward," she said with a sigh, and my eyebrows rose. From what Alice had told me, Edward was the calmest of the three siblings and the quietest.

"He's spent the past few days moping around because he hasn't heard from his girlfriend for a few days. It's beyond pathetic the way he lets her drag him around like he's a dog on a leash. He caters to her every freaking whim, and then he gets all depressed and crap when she doesn't call or text him."

"That sounds unhealthy."

Alice nodded. "It is. We've all tried to tell him that, but he doesn't listen. He claims he's in love with her."

I snorted at her eye roll.

"Anyway, what about you?" she asked. "Got a boyfriend?"

I shook my head. I told her a bit about Jake and how that had never really been a thing, and then I asked her if she had a boyfriend.

"Yeah," she said with a sigh and a dreamy look on her face. "His name's Jasper, and he's the sweetest guy ever. Gorgeous as well."

For the next twenty minutes, I listened to Alice as she talked all about Jasper, her small town of Port Angeles, and her high school. Not to mention that she'd told me, in great detail, about her brothers. After hearing that, I could honestly say I wasn't surprised by any of the pranks that Emmett pulled.

"There you are," a quiet voice said a little while later, and we both turned to see Edward hovering somewhat nervously near the large tree at the edge of my camp.

Alice waved him over our way, and he slowly walked toward us, taking a seat next to Alice on the picnic table. I hadn't spoken to him much over the course of the past week.

"Is everything okay?" she asked him, and he let out a sigh. He looked so sad and depressed, and I found myself wanting to comfort him.

He shook his head and mumbled something about Tanya, and I shared a look with Alice. She heaved a sigh before asking him what Tanya had done now, and you could tell she sounded a bit fed up.

"She broke up with me," he told her quietly, his cheeks turning red, and he fidgeted nervously as he glanced my way.

Sensing his discomfort, I excused myself and told them I'd be right back. I wandered down the road where I ran into Dad who'd gone for a walk.

"What's up, Bells?"

"Oh, Alice's brother came over while we were talking, and he's upset, so I'm giving them a few minutes," I told him.

He nodded before slinging an arm around my shoulders and telling me that he'd stopped by the ranger's station on his walk and picked up a couple of maps for some hiking trails a few miles away.

"I thought we'd go into town tomorrow," Dad said. "Maybe we can take in a movie and get some pizza or something. Sound good?"

I nodded my head eagerly. I loved it when we had what I called town days. It meant that I could spend a whole day in air conditioned buildings and eating real food. It also meant doing laundry which I desperately needed to do because a majority of my clothes smelled like fish guts.

"Sorry about that, Bella," Alice said a few minutes later after Dad and I arrived back at our site.

I waved off her apology, and I noticed that Edward's eyes were red around the rims as if he'd been crying.

"Yeah, sorry," Edward said in his quiet voice, and I shook my head. Apologies weren't needed.

"I'm gonna grill up some fish and veggies," Dad said a few minutes later, breaking the silence that had fallen. "Do you guys want to stay?"

"Sure. Thanks, Mr. S," Alice piped up before pulling out her phone and texting someone.

My dad loved Alice, thought Emmett was riot, but he didn't have much to say regarding Edward. Probably because Edward never really came over and hung out with Alice and me whereas Emmett came over quite a bit.

A little while later, the four of us were sitting around the picnic table, eating the meal that Dad had grilled. The man wasn't much of a cook, but he could grill just about anything, and the dinner he'd made was damn good.

After dinner, I walked over to the Cullen camp with Alice and Edward, and I was immediately wrapped up in a huge hug by Emmett. The boy acted like he hadn't seen me in a year even though he'd just seen me the day before.

"Put me down," I demanded, listening to him whine about the fact that he hadn't been invited to dinner. I had to laugh when his mom shushed him.

"Bella, why don't you and your dad come over for dinner tomorrow?" Mrs. Cullen asked.

"Oh, I'd love to, but we're going into town tomorrow. I'm not sure when we'll be back."

"Well how about the following day then?"

I nodded in agreement, knowing that my dad would be fine with it. He'd met Dr. and Mrs. Cullen once before and had seemed to get along with them. Dad always liked to meet family of the kids I befriended while camping.

I hung with them for a while before I decided to call it a night. Even though it was a short walk back to my campsite, Emmett insisted on walking me back, and I appreciated it.

"Thanks, Emmett," I told him once we'd arrived back at my site.

"No problem, Bells. Have fun tomorrow," he said with a wave as he walked away.

After saying goodnight to Dad, I crawled into my tent with the hopes of getting some sleep.

* * *

a/n: So there's the first chapter of the new story. Let me know what you thought.


	2. Chapter 2

A/N: I'm so glad you all are enjoying the story. I came up with some of this story after looking through some old photos. You see, from about the age of 4 until I was 21, I spent my 2 1/2 month summer vacation camping with my family. I'm talking tents, pit toilets, solar showers, no electricity camping. I hate camping now. Lol.

Anyway, thanks to Heather for her awesome beta skills, and thank you all so much for reading and/or reviewing.

* * *

"Dad, do you have the laundry detergent?" I hollered from where I stood near the back of the jeep. I'd spent the past few minutes looking for it, and I couldn't find the detergent anywhere.

"It's in the backseat!" he hollered back.

"Ready?" he asked a few minutes later after he'd loaded up his laundry bag in the back.

"Yes!" I practically shouted. I loved taking trips into town, and today was no different.

It was a short drive from the campground to Bar Harbor, and we found a small laundromat located on the main street. Once our clothes were in the washer, we wandered down the street and stopped in at a small Mom and Pop general store. I bought some junk food and a handful of postcards while Dad stocked up on fishing bait.

We had a great day, eating greasy unhealthy food and watching a zombie movie starring Brad Pitt. It had been pretty good, and even Dad had enjoyed it.

"Let's order a pizza to take back, yeah?" Dad asked.

I nodded in agreement.

By the time we got back to camp, I was starving, and I couldn't wait to dive into the large pepperoni and sausage pizza that was calling my name.

As we ate dinner, we talked about the movie, and I remembered that the Cullens had invited us over for the next day.

"Oh, Mrs. Cullen invited us over tomorrow night for dinner," I told him, and he was cool with it just like I knew he would be.

After a long day of relaxing and doing pretty much nothing, I was somehow exhausted, and I fell asleep as soon as my head hit my pillow.

I slept soundly, and I woke up early, feeling great. I made my way to the showers and was dressed and back at camp within thirty minutes. Not long after, Alice showed up with both brothers.

"We're going on a hike. Want to go with?" she asked me, and I looked over at Dad. He told me to go for it and that he was going to go out fishing for a bit.

So, I grabbed my backpack, tossed some granola bars and water in it, and the three of us made our way to the trailhead down the road.

Emmett and Alice kept a running commentary going on, but Edward didn't say a word, so I fell back to walk beside him.

"Are you okay?" I asked him, and he gave me a small smile.

"Yeah, I'm getting there. Being dumped, especially over the phone, sort of sucks," he said quietly, and I nodded.

"Were you guys together for long?"

"Since freshman year, and I never thought we'd break up. Stupid, huh?" he asked, giving me a wry smile.

I shrugged. "I guess if you believe it's the right person, then why would you question your relationship. My parents were like that. They were together since they were fifteen, and they got married right after graduation. They had me not long after that, but then, things fell apart."

"That sucks. So, you live with your dad?"

I shook my head as I ducked underneath a low hanging branch.

"Nope. I live with my mom, but it was okay at first because we only lived a few blocks from my dad, but when I was ten, she moved us to Florida. Now, I only see my dad during the summer and the occasional holiday."

"That's got to be hard. I can't imagine what I'd do if my parents split up."

"I've gotten used to it," I told him with a shrug.

As we hiked up a rather large hill, Edward and I slowly got to know one another and at one point, I saw Alice look back at us, and she had a silly little smile on her face. I didn't even want to know what she was thinking.

"Let's take a break," Alice suggested about three miles in, and we all eagerly agreed.

The weather was starting to get really warm, so we stopped near a small stream and settled down on some large rocks for a bit. We ate a snack, drank some water, and got wet when Emmett splashed all of us with water.

"I can't believe you're leaving in two weeks," I told Alice as we sprawled out on our backs on a couple of giant boulders.

"I know, but we'll keep in touch. I promise."

"Oh, I'm not worried. I am going to be lonely, though."

She rolled over on to her stomach and propped herself up on her elbows.

"Maybe some super-hot guy will show up, and you can get a little summer romance going."

I let out a laugh because I'd already found a super-hot guy. This super-hot guy also just happened to be her brother and was also in the middle of a post breakup melancholy mood.

"Or, you could just smooch on my brother because I know you like him," she said in a whisper with a wink.

I gaped at her before looking over at Edward as he laughed with Emmett.

"I can't do that," I told her.

"Why not?" she asked.

"Because," I sputtered out, unable to come up with a good reason. "Besides, he just got dumped, and I don't want to be some kind of rebound."

"I get it," she told me, "but I think he likes you, too. He's always looking at you when you aren't looking."

I rolled my eyes in her direction and did my best to ignore the little butterflies in my stomach at the thought of Edward liking me. It's not like anything could come of it anyway. He lived in Washington, and I lived in Florida.

* * *

"Hey, Bella," Edward said as he walked up to where I sat, reading by the fire.

Ever since our hike last week, Edward had been coming around more often, and we'd discovered that we had a lot in common. We both loved reading and watching crime shows, and we both had an obsession with zombie movies.

"What's up, Edward?" I asked, setting my book aside.

"Not much," he said, shrugging his shoulder with his hands shoved in his pockets. "I was just going for a walk and wondered if you wanted to go with with me?"

"Sure," I told him. "Just let me tell my dad."

It was a little after nine, and Dad had crawled into his tent a few minutes before. I poked my head into his tent and told him I was taking a short walk with Edward.

"Be safe," he told me, "Keep your cell on, and don't stay out too late."

I told him I would, and then I walked to where Edward was waiting.

"Where to?" I asked, looking up at him and admiring his strong jaw line. He'd only grown more attractive to me since we'd started talking.

"We could hit up the beach or just walk through the campground."

"Either one works for me," I told him, and we began walking.

"Are you ready to get back home?" I asked him as we made our way onto the beach.

"Yes and no," he told me. "I'm ready to sleep in my own bed, but I'm not ready deal with Tanya."

"Good ole small town life, huh?"

He barked out a laugh. "Right! Did I mention that she lives across the street from me? So, it's kind of inevitable that I'll run into her."

I winced at his words. It was always rough seeing your ex around the hallways at school, but to live across from them, especially when you still harbored feelings, had to be rough.

"Well, hopefully it won't be awful. I mean, I wouldn't go out of my way to hang out with her or anything."

"Yeah, I'll probably just avoid her for a while although I'd like a real reason as to why she broke up with me. All she said was it's not working out, and that's a bullshit excuse."

We walked in silence for a few minutes before I sat down on the sandy shore, and Edward joined me. I had a burning question that I really wanted ask him, even though it wasn't my business, and I found myself blurting out the question.

"Do you love her?"

He gazed at the water for a few seconds before answering me.

"I thought I did, but now, I'm not so sure. I'm not as upset as I thought I would be. I thought for sure I'd be devastated, and I felt like crap for a couple of days after she broke up with me, but I don't feel like my world has ended or anything."

"So, how about you?" he asked me. "Have you ever been in love?"

I shook my head. "Nope, not yet, but there's plenty of time. I'm not even seventeen yet."

"That's right. Your birthday's in September, right?"

I nodded.

We sat on the beach, talking and laughing for hours, and I found myself completely charmed by him. There was something so sweet and almost old-fashioned about Edward.

A little after eleven, he walked me back to my campsite and placed a gentle kiss on my cheek after saying goodnight.

I watched as he walked away, unable to keep myself from touching the spot on my cheek that he'd kissed. The boy was too cute for his own good.

A week later, I was saying a teary goodbye to him along with Alice and Emmett. Hell, I'd never been so attached to three people before, and I almost lost it when Edward wrapped me up in a hug. I was going to be so bored without them around, but we all promised to stay in touch.

"You gonna be okay, Bells?" Dad asked as we watched the Cullens drive away.

"Yeah, I'll be fine. It's not like we're living in the 80's and our only means of communication is written letters."

Dad let out a laugh before nudging my shoulder.

"Amazing isn't it how people managed to stay in touch without all this technology?"

"Yeah, yeah," I said with a grin. Dad hated texting, emailing, and Skyping. He was practically a technophobe.

* * *

The summer passed by quicker than I would have liked, but the Cullen siblings and I were true to our word. We kept in touch constantly, and I sent them postcards from the various states that Dad and I drove through on our way home.

_Hey, Edward!_

_Greetings from I-90 near Albany. I got you this lovely little postcard from a local gas station and thought I'd send it along. Hope all is well._

_~Bella_

_Edward!_

_Howdy from the Rock n Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland. Dad and I had a blast visiting the place, and I had to get you a postcard. I'll talk to you soon._

_~Bella_

_Hey Edward!_

_I'm saying hello from St. Louis! Dad and I didn't get to explore the city, but I did manage to snag you a postcard from the hotel foyer. _

_~Bella_

_Hi Edward!_

_We finally made it back to Phoenix, and I felt I should send you a postcard from here as well. I was going to send you one when we went through Oklahoma, but honestly, there wasn't much to see there. I'll call you soon._

_~Bella_

A couple of days after Dad and I arrived back in Phoenix, I got a call from an extremely excited Alice. Her boyfriend, Jasper, and his family were going to Orlando for a week right before school started, and she was hoping that she could see me. I let her know that Jacksonville was a couple hours away from Orlando, but that I'd love to see her again.

After we were done talking, I got an alert on my phone telling me I had a new email. I opened it up and saw that Edward had written me.

_Hi Bella,_

_Thanks for all the postcards! I loved getting them, and I'm a bit jealous that you got to see all those places. School starts in 2 weeks, and I'm not really looking forward to it. Not to mention that Tanya came over the other day with her new boyfriend in tow. Sure didn't take her long, did it? Anyway, give me a call when you can._

_Edward_

_P.S. I'm pretty sure that Alice will be calling you soon._

Grinning, I wrote him back, letting him know that Alice had called and that I'd be leaving for Florida in two days. I wasn't really looking forward to going home, but I always felt that way when I left my dad's. When I was with my dad, I was allowed to be a kid, but when I was with my mother, I was the adult, and one of these days, I was going to snap. I just knew it.

Two days later, I was hugging my dad goodbye and boarding the plane to Jacksonville. It wasn't a very long flight, but I had to wait half an hour for my mother to show up. She'd completely forgotten that I was arriving even though I'd texted her the day before to remind her.

"Oh, Bella! I'm so glad you're home!" she said, hugging me and rocking us back and forth.

It was on the tip of my tongue to tell her she couldn't be that glad to see me since she'd forgotten to pick me up, but I didn't. I hugged her back and told her I was glad to be home as well.

On the drive home, she told me that she'd been dating some guy named Phil for the past couple of months and that she was madly in love with him. I did my best not to roll my eyes. My mother was always falling "madly in love" with someone, and I'm sure this time would be no different.

"Anyway, Phil's coming over for dinner. I can't wait for you to meet him," she told me before going on about how she'd met Phil and how wonderful he was.

I'd reserve judgment until I met him for myself. I just hoped he wasn't as much of a douche as the last guy was.

As soon as we were home, I carried my bags upstairs and began to unpack. It didn't take long, and once I was done, I went online to order some picture frames. I always kept a few postcards from my trips, and I liked to frame them and hang them up on my bedroom walls.

"Bella! Can you come down and help me?" Mom hollered, and I held back a sigh before making my way downstairs.

Mom was in the kitchen, attempting to cook some strange looking concoction involving peaches, peas, and tuna. It was almost enough to make me gag.

"Um….what are you making?" I asked as I stared at the mixture in the bowl with disdain.

"Oh, Phil loves tuna casserole, but I thought I'd change it up a bit."

"Okay," I drawled out, knowing that I wouldn't be eating it. Nobody wanted to eat tuna mixed with peaches and peas.

An hour later, the casserole, the dinner rolls, and the salad were all set on the table, and the doorbell had just rung. I could hear my mom greeting Phil, and I watched as a man a few years younger than my mom walked in.

"Bella, this is Phil Dwyer. Phil, this is my daughter, Bella."

I shook his hand and told him it was nice to meet him.

Dinner wasn't as awkward as I'd thought it would be, although I almost choked to death on the casserole. Phil, on the other hand, devoured it, and I had to give him props for that because it made my mom beam, especially when he told her he loved it.

I learned over dinner that Phil was baseball coach at the local community college as well as a former baseball player himself. He genuinely seemed like a nice guy, and he really seemed to like my mom. I hoped that was the case because I didn't want to have to go through more "break-up drama."

After dinner was over, I told Phil it was nice to meet him and excused myself, making my way up to my bedroom.

I changed into my pajamas and sent a quick text to Edward to let him know that I'd arrived home safely and told him about my mom and her new boyfriend. We texted back and forth for a while before sleep finally caught up with me.

* * *

a/n: As always, let me know what you thought.


	3. Chapter 3

A/N: Big thanks to Heather for her beta'ing skills. Thanks so much for reading and/or reviewing.

* * *

"Here, Bella. You got a postcard from someone," Mom said the next day as I lounged on the couch, watching the reruns of some crime show.

I took the card from her, grinning when I saw the words Port Angeles written on the front. Eagerly, I turned it over and read the words that had been written.

_Dear Bella,_

_I thought it was time to return the favor, so greetings from Port Angeles, WA. Maybe next year, you and your dad can come camping out this way. We've got plenty of woods. I'll talk to you soon!_

_Edward_

I felt a silly smile cross my face, and my mom noticed right away.

"So, who's that from?" she asked, sitting down next to me on the couch.

I felt a blush creep up my cheeks as I answered her. "Edward Cullen. He's the twin brother of my friend, Alice, who's coming to Orlando later this week. I met them while camping."

"Is he cute?" she asked, and I let out a laugh. My mom was a romantic who loved to gossip and sometimes, she cracked me up.

"Very," I told her, pulling out my phone and bringing up a picture that Alice had taken of Edward and me.

"Girl, he is hot!" Mom said, fanning herself, and I rolled my eyes at her.

"Yeah, but he just got out of a relationship, not to mention that he lives across the country."

"True love always finds away."

"I'm not in love with him," I told her. "I just have a small crush."

Thankfully, Mom changed the subject and told me that she had a date with Phil later that night and chances were good she wouldn't be home until tomorrow. I grimaced at her words because I so didn't want to think about my mother engaging in those kinds of activities.

Later that night after my mom had left, I was snuggled in bed, watching _Resident Evil_ when my phone rang. I beamed when I saw that it was Edward.

"Hey, Edward!"

"Hey, Bella. How are you?"

I leaned back against my pillows as I answered him.

"I'm good," I told him. "It's nice being home, but I really miss my dad. Oh, thank you for the postcard. I got it today."

"I figured I should return the favor. I loved getting your cards."

We talked for a good hour before Alice interrupted us, and I could hear her demanding to speak to me.

"Sorry, Bella. Alice just has to speak to you, and apparently, she can't just call you on her own phone," Edward said, and I let out a laugh.

"Well all right then. I guess I'll talk to you later," I told him.

A few seconds later, Alice was talking my ear off, telling me she couldn't wait to see me and she couldn't wait for me to meet Jasper. We planned on meeting up in Palm Coast which was halfway between Jacksonville and Orlando. She'd wanted me to go to Disney World with her, but I honestly couldn't afford it, and I'd just been the previous spring.

"Well, I'll let you go. Here's Edward," she said, handing the phone off to Edward.

"I'm gonna say goodnight," he told me. "I know you said you had an early morning."

He was right. My mom was insisting on taking me school clothes shopping in the morning, and although I hated shopping, I did want to spend time with her.

"I'll talk to you tomorrow if I survive shopping."

He let out a laugh that made my heart flutter.

"Does Alice know how much you hate shopping? Because if not, you might not want to tell her. She lives to shop."

"Oh, I know," I said with a laugh. "And yes, Alice knows how I feel about shopping although I did promise to go to the mall with her."

"Oh, my God, Bella! Why would you agree to that?" he asked, horror evident in his voice. "Do you have any idea what shopping with Alice entails? You'll spend hours on your feet, you'll be starving and dying of thirst, and she won't even care!"

I couldn't help but laugh at his outburst. Sometimes, he really cracked me up.

"I'll be fine, Edward. I promise. I'll carry food and water with me."

"If you're sure," he said in a doubtful voice.

"I promise. I'll call you after I survive your sister's shopping trip as well."

At eight the next morning, Mom came home, rushing about in her usual way to gather everything she needed for our shopping trip. She had lists and coupons, not to mention her purse and phone. As soon as I was done eating breakfast, she tossed my plate in the sink and hurried me up to put on my shoes.

"Calm down, Mom," I told her with a laugh. "The mall isn't closing anytime soon."

Thankfully, shopping with my mom wasn't a marathon, and we got all we needed in a couple of hours. Afterwards, we went out for lunch and took a walk on the beach.

"Phil has asked me to go to South Carolina with him next week. Would you be okay with that?" she asked as we sat on a bench.

I told her it was fine. It wasn't like I hadn't been on my own before. Plus, I was almost seventeen.

"Just no wild parties," she warned, and I let out a laugh. I'd never been to a party, much less hosted one, and I certainly wasn't going to start now. Oh, I'd been invited to plenty of parties, but they weren't really my thing.

Just then, my phone buzzed, and I smiled when I saw a text from Edward causing my mom to begin teasing me.

"Stop, Mom," I said with a small sigh. "Remember that Edward and I are just friends."

"Uh huh," she deadpanned as she stood up.

Rolling my eyes at her, I followed her back to the car, texting Edward the whole time.

He'd wanted to know how my day was going, and I gladly told him. He then told me that Emmett was driving him insane because he was crushing on some cheerleader named Rose who was so far out of Emmett's league that it was almost comical to watch. I could just picture Emmett fawning over some hot cheerleader.

I barely paid attention to Mom on the way home because I was so wrapped up in texting Edward. I only stopped when I got a text from Emmett, telling me that everything Edward said was a lie. I giggled as I read that before texting Emmett to behave. Emmett absolutely cracked me up, and I knew without a doubt that he was an awesome big brother.

* * *

"Bella!" I heard Alice squeal as I got out of my Mom's car that I'd borrowed.

"Alice!" I called back, rushing over to where she stood next to a tall handsome guy with blond hair.

I was immediately engulfed in a hug which I gladly returned. It was crazy how much I'd missed her. She'd become my best friend in an incredibly short amount of time, and I'd grown super attached to her as well as Edward and Emmett during the time we'd spent camping.

"Bella, this is my Jasper. Jasper, this is my best friend, Bella," she said after we pulled apart.

Jasper held out a hand and told me it was wonderful to meet me in a thick Southern accent. Alice had informed me that Jasper was from Texas, but she hadn't mentioned just how Southern he sounded.

"It's wonderful to meet you, too," I told him. "I've heard a lot about you."

He beamed and slung an arm around Alice's shoulders.

"So, I figured we could hit up the mall, grab some lunch, and then maybe the beach if that's cool with you guys," I suggested, and they both nodded.

"I can't wait to go shopping!" Alice said, and Jasper made a face before kissing Alice's cheek.

"Don't worry," I told Jasper. "I'm prepared."

I pulled some trail mix and a bottle of water out of my purse, informing them that Edward had warned me about Alice's shopping excursions.

Alice's mouth dropped open in disbelief and shock as Jasper let out a huge laugh.

"Edward is such a jerk!" Alice declared, and I just grinned at her.

"Are you telling me that you aren't a mad shopping guru who can go for days?"

She let out a giggle before telling me that Edward was probably right about her.

Despite shopping for several hours in a row, I had a great time, and I loved seeing how sweet Jasper was toward Alice. They seemed to be the perfect couple. He was the quiet to her hyperness.

After a wonderful lunch of Mexican food, we hit up the beach and some small gift shops along the way. I grabbed a couple of postcards, swatting Alice on the arm when she teased me.

"You and your postcard obsession."

"I don't have an obsession with postcards. I just enjoy collecting them and sending them to my friends."

"Well, I know Edward certainly enjoyed getting them."

"You know he sent me one," I told her, and she stopped what she was doing and looked at me.

"Really?"

I nodded.

"That's so sweet!" she squealed, and I sighed, knowing what was coming next.

Sure enough, she began rambling on about how perfect Edward and I would be together and how it didn't matter that I lived in Florida and he was in Washington. I tried to interject and cut her off before she went on a tangent, but it was fruitless. Sensing my discomfort, Jasper did his best to steer the conversation away from Edward, but even he wasn't able to.

Finally, I'd had enough, and I told Alice in a firm yet polite tone that nothing was going to happen between Edward and me. She opened her mouth to protest, but I shook my head.

"Drop it, please. I just ..." I shook my head. "Please, just leave it alone."

Alice nodded before apologizing, and I told her it was fine.

The rest of the day was spent hanging out and having fun, and I was sad to see them go at the end of the day.

By the time I made it home, it was a little past nine, and I was exhausted from the long day. I dragged the three bags of books, journals, and clothes into the house, waving hello to my mom and Phil who were snuggling in the living room. I didn't really want to interrupt them, so I went upstairs to my room to put away my bags and call Edward.

_Made it back alive, _I texted.

A few seconds later, I got a responding text.

_Glad to hear that. Give me a few, and I'll call you. Finishing up the dishes._

While I waited for Edward to call, I went about adding my new books to my bookshelf and putting away the new t-shirts I'd bought. After I was done with that, I flopped down on my bed and impatiently waited for the phone to ring.

Finally it rang, and I answered immediately.

"I'm so glad to hear that you survived," he said, and I held back a sigh at hearing his voice.

I was growing more and more attracted to Edward, and I think that was one reason why I'd gotten a tad bit angry with Alice over her words earlier that day. I didn't want to find myself attracted to a boy that I couldn't have. Long distance relationships were hard to begin with, but I could only imagine how much harder it would be at our age.

"Yeah, it wasn't so bad. I think I owe a lot of that to Jasper as well as you for preparing me for what was to come," I said, grinning when he let out a laugh.

"Poor Jasper. You know he loves her a lot since he goes shopping with her."

"That's definitely a sign of true love."

We stayed up, talking until one in the morning, and I finally, had to end the call because I couldn't stop yawning. After saying goodnight, I set my phone on my nightstand, and the postcards I'd picked up earlier that day caught my eye.

I snagged one that had a beautiful picture of a sunset on it and grabbed the purple pen that was laying near it. I wrote a quick little note to Edward before addressing it, and then I decided to send one to Emmett as well.

Once I was done, I made my way into the bathroom, completed my bathroom ritual, and crawled into bed.

* * *

"Up and at 'em, kiddo!" Mom hollered as she passed by my door, and I rolled over with a groan, grimacing when I saw it was six-thirty. I hated the early mornings that came with the school year.

With a sigh, I got up and took a shower before dressing in a pair of shorts and a t-shirt, slipping my feet into a pair of low-top blue Converse. Gathering up my hair, I put it in a ponytail before grabbing my backpack and going down to the kitchen.

Mom had some weird yogurt looking stuff in a bowl, and I grimaced at the sight of it, telling her that I'd just have toast.

Twenty minutes later, Mom was dropping me off at school before heading to the elementary school where she worked.

I made my way up the front steps and opened one of the large doors to the school, making my way toward my locker. It wasn't long before my friends found me, and we all hugged each other and caught up. I realized as I was talking to them, that I hadn't missed them as much this summer as I had in the past, and that made me feel guilty.

"Meet any cute boys this summer?" my friend, Bree, asked me.

I thought about Edward as I nodded.

"Yeah, I met one or two."

"Got any pics?" she asked, and I hesitated before answering her. It was stupid, but I didn't want to share Edward with anyone just yet.

"Sadly, no," I lied, hoping that she'd forgive me for the white lie.

"Too bad. Oh, so guess what?" she asked, and she was off and running, filling me in on all the gossip that I'd missed while I was gone. Apparently, Jake and Leah had broken up, gotten back together, and broken up again.

"Rumor has it that Jake broke up with her because he wants you back," she told me as we walked to our first period math class.

"Ugh. That's so not happening," I said with a grimace, hoping like hell she was wrong.

Sadly, she wasn't.

After third period, Jake found me as I walked toward the cafeteria, and he slung an arm around my shoulders. I shrugged it off and shot him glare.

"What are you doing, Jake?" I asked, noticing that Leah was glaring at me from down the hall.

"Nothing," he said, shooting me a cocky smile. "I just missed you, that's all."

"I can't say the same," I told him, feeling slightly bad when his face fell.

"Listen, can we talk?" he asked, and I shook my head no.

"We're over, Jake. We didn't work out well when we were together, and I've moved on. I thought you'd done the same."

He shrugged as he told me that Leah wasn't me and that he'd like a second chance. I told him that wasn't going to happen. I watched as his cheeks turned red and a hint of anger flickered in his eyes.

"Is there someone else?"

"That's none of your business," I told him. "Go back to Leah. She's crazy about you."

I then hurried down the hall and into the cafeteria, scowling the whole way. He'd totally put a damper on my fairly good day; however, that all changed when I got a text from Edward while I was eating lunch with my friends.

"Who ya texting?" my friend, Ashley, asked, and I shook my head.

"No one."

"Well, no one sure knows how to put a smile on your face," she commented with a raised eyebrow.

"Just a guy I met this summer," I told her, knowing that she'd report back to Bree about it, and that Bree would hound me.

"Yeah?" she asked as she leaned forward on the table. "Tell me all about him."

Still not wanting to share Edward with anyone just yet, I gave generic and vague descriptions about him until she finally got the hint that I didn't really want to talk about it.

"I'll drop it for now," she said, but I knew she wouldn't forget.

* * *

a/n: Thanks for reading. Let me know what you thought.


	4. Chapter 4

A/N:Thank you all so much for reading/reviewing. I love hearing from you all even though I'm bad at responding back. It's been a crazy couple of days. 4 tornadoes hit within 20 miles of me, and one of our little towns here in IL was demolished. Thankfully, no one I knew was hurt.

I'd also like to give a huge thanks to my beta, Heather, for her mad beta'ing skills.

* * *

"Homecoming is on Friday," I told Edward as I talked to him one evening. I'd been afraid that once school started, we wouldn't keep in touch as much, but that fear had been unfounded. If anything, we talked more and kept each other up to date on what was going on at school and in our lives.

I kept in touch with Alice just as much, and Emmett and I spoke and emailed occasionally, but Edward was the one person to whom I constantly talked.

"Are you going?" he asked me, and I shook my head even though he couldn't see me.

"It's not my thing. I mean, I might go to the game, but I'm not going to the dance. That would require me to not only wear a dress but to attempt to dance to music that I can't stand."

Edward let out a laugh.

"Yeah, our homecoming is next week and knowing Alice, I'll be forced to attend."

"Are you asking anyone to go with you?" I asked him, hoping that he'd say no and then berating myself for thinking that. I had no claims on Edward, and it would be stupid of me to be jealous if he did go to a school dance with someone.

"Nah," he said, and I held back a sigh of relief. "I'm not interested in any of the girls that go to my school."

It was on the tip of my tongue to ask if there was anyone who didn't go to his school that he was interested in, but I was afraid of what he'd say.

"Are things any better with that Jake character?" Edward asked a few minutes later.

I'd told him all about how Jake had said he'd wanted me back and how he'd been relentless since the first day of school. I'd told Jake no a thousand times, and I was so freaking close to seeing if I could file a restraining order against him for being a harassing douchebag.

"No," I said with a growl. "It's almost gotten worse, and Leah and her friends are constantly shooting me dirty looks and talking crap about me. I don't know what to do anymore."

"Talk to your dad," Edward suggested. "He might have some ideas. If not, talk to the principal."

"I know I should, but I'm afraid that will just make things worse. It's not like Jake is stalking me at home or when I'm in town. The only time I see him is at school."

"Well, I worry about you," Edward said, and my heart skipped a beat. "I just want you to be safe."

"I appreciate it, and I promise that I'll talk to my dad."

"Good. So what else is going on?"

We talked for several hours, but it didn't seem like it. Time always flew by when I was talking to Edward, and I found myself telling him things that I hadn't told anybody. Things like how there were times when I wanted to live with my dad because I couldn't handle my mom anymore or how my friend, Bree, sometimes annoyed the hell out of me. I'd told Edward things that I hadn't told Alice even though I considered her to be my closest friend. There was something about Edward that was so trustworthy, and I knew that no matter what I told him, he wouldn't judge me nor would he share my secrets.

A little after ten, we hung up, and I rolled onto my back, staring at the ceiling with a goofy smile on my face.

"You've got it bad," my mom commented from my doorway, scaring the crap out of me.

"I do not," I denied.

"Uh huh," she said, crossing her arms over her chest and staring at me until I wanted to squirm.

"Okay, fine. I like him. A lot. Happy now?"

"Does he know?"

"What?! Of course not!"

"You should tell him how you feel," she told me, coming in and sitting down on the edge of my bed.

I stared at her like she'd lost her damn mind. I wasn't going to tell Edward that I was harboring a massive crush on him.

"Uh, no. Not gonna happen."

"Why not?"

"Because," I told her. "I can't just tell Edward that I like him."

Mom just sighed and told me to think about it, but there was nothing to think about.

* * *

"C'mon, Bella!" Bree whined. "Won't you come to the dance?"

I shook my head and told her no for the umpteenth time, but she was relentless, and when my other friends joined in on the begging, I finally gave in. Now, I wasn't normally the kind of kid to give into peer pressure, but it was only a dance, and I'd been told that Jake wouldn't be there.

Guess who gave into her friends and is going to the dance? I texted to Edward, and I got a response back right away.

You poor thing. Lol.

He must have told Alice because I got a text from her a few minutes later, telling me to send her pictures, and I reluctantly agreed.

The following night, I found myself being primped by my mom as she fixed my hair and applied a bit of makeup. When she was done, I had to admit that she'd done a good job.

Mom took a few pictures of me on my phone, and I sent them to Alice as well as Edward, and then I wondered why I'd sent it to him. Trying not to dwell on what he'd think, seeing me all dolled up, I drove to the high school and tried to focus on the dance.

I had a surprisingly good time, dancing a little bit with my friends and singing to songs that we all knew. As a matter of fact, I had such a good time that I completely forgot about my text to Edward, and it wasn't until the night was over and I was back home that I checked my phone.

I had two texts from Alice, one from Emmett, and one from Edward. I read Alice and Emmett's texts first, not quite sure I was ready to read what Edward had to say. Not that he would ever say anything rude about me, but I was nervous to see whether he thought I looked pretty or not, and I let out a snort at my thoughts. When had I become so vain?

Not quite ready to read the text Edward had sent me, I took a shower and washed away the makeup that I'd worn to the dance. Once I was done, I put on my pajamas and climbed into bed, clutching my phone tightly.

With an eye roll at myself, I unlocked my phone and pulled up Edward's text.

You're beautiful, was all it read, and my heart fluttered in my chest.

With shaking fingers, I texted him back, telling him thank you, and he responded almost immediately telling me I was welcome. He asked how the dance was, and I told him it was pretty fun and had been drama free.

Before we said goodbye, he told me that he'd send me a picture of himself looking sexy for his homecoming dance, and I let out a giggle. I'd discovered over time that the shy quiet Edward I'd met camping was also a sweet and funny guy who could hold his own against his crazy brother.

You do that, and we'll see just how sexy you think you are.

I'm mad sexy. You'll see, he wrote, and I let out another giggle which sort of irritated me. I wasn't normally a giggly kind of girl, but with Edward, I found myself being a bit more girly.

The following Friday at around eight, I was on the couch, watching a movie with Mom and Phil when my phone buzzed. Excusing myself, I rushed toward my room and eagerly opened the text Edward had sent me.

He'd been right. He was mad sexy, and I let him know that. His response was a smiley emoji, and I told him to have a good time and to stay safe.

I'll call you when I get home; although knowing Alice, it won't be until late.

That's fine. I'll be up.

"Edward?" Mom asked when I came back into the living room, and I nodded.

I ended up falling asleep before the second movie was over and was awoken when my mom shook my shoulder and told me to go to bed.

"I told Edward I'd be up when he calls," I told her as I made my way into the kitchen and poured myself a glass of Pepsi.

Drink in hand, I made my way up to my room and logged onto my laptop.

I opened up my Facebook page, which I rarely updated, and saw that Alice had already posted a ton of pics from her homecoming football game as well as some pics from the dance. As I scoured through the pictures, I noticed one of Edward with his arm wrapped around a gorgeous blonde, and my heart sunk. I knew he hadn't taken anyone to the dance, but that didn't mean he wasn't interested in someone or that he didn't dance with anyone.

By the time my phone rang, I was in a bit of a funk, and I considered not answering it, but then I came to my senses. I was being silly and acting like a jealous girlfriend.

"Hey, you," I said after accepting his call.

"Hey. I hope I'm not calling too late."

"Not at all. I just got done watching some movie with my mom and Phil. So, how was the dance? I saw the pics Alice posted on Facebook."

"It was okay," he said before letting out what sounded like a weary sigh. "I was ready to leave about halfway through, but Alice wouldn't let me."

"Oh, is she the boss of you?" I teased and was rewarded with a sexy laugh.

"She certainly thinks so. No, I'd driven all of us, and I offered to come back for them, but Alice pouted until I caved in."

"Did she make you dance?" I asked him, trying to find a way to ask who the blonde in the picture was.

"I danced once with Rose, Emmett's girl, and a few times with our group, but no one special."

"Is Rose the one in the picture with you?" I asked, wincing at how I blurted it out.

"Yep. She's pretty and all, but not my type. She can be a bit abrasive and has no trouble telling you exactly what she thinks. She keeps Emmett in line."

And just like that, all those conflicted jealous emotions I had been feeling were gone.

As we talked, Edward mentioned, once again, about how I needed to come out to Washington for a visit, and my heart stuttered like it always did. He'd mentioned it a few times now, and the thought of seeing him again gave me goosebumps. Oh, we'd Skyped a few times, but it wasn't quite the same as seeing him in person.

"I'd love to come out and visit you guys. Maybe spring break or something. We'll see," I told him, mentally trying to figure out a way to make it work.

* * *

"Hey, Dad!" I sang as I answered my phone. Dad and I did our best to talk as often as possible but life tended to get in the way, and it had been two weeks since we'd last spoken.

"Hey, Bells! How are you?" he asked, and I told him that I was fine before asking him what was up.

"Well, you know how I've been looking for a different job?" he asked, and I nodded even though he couldn't see me. Dad had been looking for a change. He still wanted to be a cop, but he was tired of the big city, and he'd begun to search for a job in a smaller town. He'd been nervous when he first told me, but I totally supported his decision. It was his life, and I didn't want my dad to be unhappy.

"You got one?" I asked.

"I did, and I owe a huge thanks to Edward's dad, Carlisle. We've kept in touch like you and their kids have, and he let me know that there was an opening in a small town near them called Forks."

My heart about stopped. The idea of being able to visit my dad and see Edward at the same time would be incredibly awesome.

"So, you're going to be a cop in Forks, Washington?"

"Actually, I'll be the chief of police. The pay is a bit less, but the cost of living is also cheaper, so I'll be good. They want me to start the first of November, so I've got a month to sell the house here and find one there."

"Well, I'm happy for you, Dad, and I'll definitely be visiting you."

"You'll just want to visit so you can see the Cullen kids," he teased, and I totally agreed.

After I got off the phone with Dad, I sent out multiple texts to Edward, Alice, and Emmett before hunting down my mom in the kitchen.

As I sat on a stool at the kitchen counter, I told Mom that Dad had gotten a new job and was moving to Washington.

"Good for Charlie," she said, and I knew she meant it. Their divorce had been amicable, and neither held any dislike for the other.

"He's always loved the Northwest, and now he can do a lot more fishing."

I let out a laugh at that.

I had a feeling Washington was going to be the perfect place for my dad. A few minutes later, my phone rang, and I saw it was Alice.

"Oh my God!" she squealed as soon as I answered. "I can't believe it! We'll actually get to see you!"

I let out a laugh at her exuberance.

"How far is Forks from Port Angeles?"

"An hour or so," she told me before she was off and running and talking about all the things we would do when I came to visit. I had to admit, I was getting pretty excited about it myself.

"Edward wants to talk to you, so I have to hang up," Alice said in a disgruntled tone a few minutes later, but I knew she wasn't too upset.

"Or you could just give me your phone so I can talk to her," I heard Edward say, and Alice huffed, handing it over.

"Hey, Bella," Edward said, and his voice warmed me. "I was pretty excited when I saw your text. I'd love to see you sooner rather than later, and your dad will only be like an hour away from us."

"Yeah, that's what Alice was saying, and I have to admit, it would be great to be able to see you guys more often."

"Will you be spending the holidays with your dad?" he asked, and I paused before answering. I usually spent the holidays with my mom since I spent summers with Dad, but maybe I'd change it up this year if Mom was cool with it.

"I'll see if I can come out for Christmas. I'll have to ask my mom first."

We spoke for a while until Mom called my name, and I told Edward I had to go.

"I'll talk to you later Sweet Girl," he said before hanging up, and I stared at my phone in surprise.

"Everything okay?" Mom asked a few minutes later.

"Huh. Oh, yeah," I told her absently as I pondered over Edward's words. He'd never called me that before. I certainly wasn't objecting, but I wondered what it meant.

* * *

a/n: As always, I'd love to hear your thoughts.


	5. Chapter 5

A/N: Thank you all so much for the love you're giving this story. I appreciate it, even though I'm rubbish at responding to reviews. I need to give a huge thanks to my beta, Heather, for her awesome work. On with the story.

Oh, and since some of you asked their ages are this: Bella is 17 (16 at the beginning of the story. Alice and Edward are 17 and Emmett is 18).

* * *

The month of October was over before I even knew it, and I found it hard to believe that the holidays were right around the corner. Dad had sold his house in Phoenix and had bought a cute three bedroomed house in Forks that was surrounded by woods. He'd sent me tons of pictures of the area, and it was beautiful. I couldn't wait to go and visit him, but I'd been reluctant to broach the subject of spending Christmas with him to my mom.

"Is everything okay?" she asked me as we sat at the table, eating some strange tacos that she'd created. Mom's cooking was always interesting and sometimes incredibly disgusting. Thankfully, tonight's dinner was fairly decent.

"Actually, there's something I wanted to ask you," I told her and I put down my fork.

"What's that?"

"Um...woulditbeokayifIspentChrismtaswithdad?" I blurted out.

Mom gave me a smirk before asking me to repeat my question. So I did, slower this time so she could actually understand me.

"I know that I usually spend Christmas with you, but I'd really like to go see Dad's new place."

"Uh huh. I'm sure this has nothing to do with wanting to see Edward," she said a smile on her face, and I turned red.

"That would be a perk," I mumbled and then she laughed at me.

"I think that would be fine, but I want you to spend New Year's Eve back here. I was hoping we could hit up Disney World to ring in the New Year."

I eagerly agreed as I stood up from the table and threw my arms around her in a hug. I was so excited, and I could hardly finish my dinner before calling Dad. He was delighted that I was coming to visit. After I was done talking to him, I called Edward.

He didn't answer, so I left a voicemail and hoped he'd call back soon. Our relationship had taken on a flirty tone, and I wasn't quite sure what to make of it, not that I was complaining by any means, and he'd taken to sending me a postcard every week.

I had quite the collection of Washington postcards, and each one of them had a funny quote or a song lyric written on them. I found myself beyond charmed. Mom thought that it was romantic and incredibly sweet as did Alice. I agreed with them both, but it still left me feeling a bit confused.

Walking over to my desk, I picked up the latest postcard from Edward. It was a vintage post card of Port Angeles, and on the back, he'd written _Maybe the Internet raised us … or maybe people are jerks. _It was a song quote from Lorde's _A World Alone_, and he'd sent it to me after I'd had a bad day, dealing with Jacob the Jerk.

Smiling, I went to my closet and pulled out the keepsake box my dad had given me when I was twelve. I kept seashells and pressed leaves in it, and now it housed the postcards Edward had sent me. There were only seven of them at the moment, and I pulled them out to read them all.

Some of them were just silly and had been just what I'd needed.

He'd sent me a postcard that he'd found at a thrift store, and he'd written a few of the words from Macklemore's _Thrift Shop_ on it which made me smile. The next postcard I picked up had a bunch of wildflowers on the front of it, and on the back, he'd written _You belong among the wildflowers, _a quote by Tom Petty.

The boy was really too sweet I thought as I put away all the postcards and put the box back on the top shelf of my closet.

By the time I'd finished all my homework and was curled up in bed, I still hadn't heard from Edward, but I wasn't too concerned.

When I woke up the next morning, I found a text waiting for me from Edward. He apologized for not getting back to me and told me to call him whenever I wanted. Seeing as how he was three hours behind me and I didn't want to wake him up, I decided to call him after school.

A little after six that evening, I gave Edward a call, and a smile crossed my face when he answered.

"So, I'll be seeing you in December," I told him, laughing when he let out a woot.

"That is so freaking awesome! I can't wait to see you!" he said, and I definitely shared his enthusiasm.

A month later, I was on an eight hour flight to Seattle where Dad would pick me up, and then we'd drive three and a half hours to Forks.

I was so freaking excited which only made the long flight seem that much longer … and by the time the pilot announced we were arriving in Seattle, I could barely take it.

Getting off the plane took forever since I was stuck in the back, and I was more than a bit disgruntled by the time I made it into the waiting area. However, my disgruntledness disappeared when I saw my dad.

"Bells!" he cried out before wrapping me up in a huge hug which I eagerly returned before he took my suitcase, and we walked toward the parking area.

The drive to Forks was long, but the scenery surrounding the road was amazing despite the muddy ground.

"So, how's the job going?" I asked him, and he shot me a smile.

"I love it," he said, and I could tell he meant it. It wasn't that he hadn't been happy in Arizona, but now, he seemed to radiate with happiness.

"I love the pace of small town life, and I enjoy knowing a majority of the people in town. I've even met someone," he said, and I watched as cheeks turned pink.

"No way," I commented. "What's her name?"

"Sue Clearwater. She actually lives on the La Push reservation which is about twenty-five minutes away."

"How did you meet her?" I asked, completely curious about the woman who could make Charlie Swan blush.

"At the local diner. Her son is working as a chef there, and she'd come into to town to pick him up after his shift was over. We got to talking while she was waiting for him, and that was that."

"How old is her son?" I asked, and he told me that Seth was eighteen and a senior in high school. He went on to tell me that Sue was a widow whose husband had passed away when Seth was in grade school, and she'd been raising him on her own.

"Do I get to meet them?"

Dad nodded. "I invited them to dinner tomorrow night. I figured I'd grill some fish—"

"Nope, I'll whip something up," I interrupted.

"Ah Bells, you don't have to do that."

I gave him a look, daring him to argue with me after confirming that he'd grilled Sue fish just last week. I was really going to have to teach the man how to cook something else.

"How about I make a lasagna?" I suggested, and Dad nodded his head and told me we'd stop at the grocery store before going to his house.

An hour later, we were driving past a sign welcoming us to Forks, and not long after that, Dad was pulling into an IGA parking lot. He'd told me they had a Wal-Mart nearby, but he preferred to shop at the local places. I didn't blame him.

As soon as we walked in the door, people began greeting Dad, whether it was with a greeting or a wave, and Dad introduced me to quite a few people. I probably wouldn't remember any of their names, but that was okay. I really enjoyed the friendliness of it all

"Good afternoon, Chief," the woman at the checkout said.

"Afternoon, Carol. How's your son?" Dad asked, and they kept a constant stream of chatter as she scanned our items.

I found it strange to see my dad so talkative. He tended to be a pretty quiet guy, but it seemed as if the small town of Forks was causing a few changes in him, and they were good changes.

"Well, this is us," Dad said about ten minutes later when he pulled into the driveway of a cute house with lots of shrubbery.

As we walked in the front door, I glanced around, surprised to see how pretty it was. Not that his house in Phoenix hadn't been nice, but this house certainly seemed like an upgrade, and the pictures that he'd sent me hadn't done it justice.

Dad set my suitcase down in the living room, and I made my way toward the kitchen with the grocery bags in my arms.

The second I set foot in it, I fell in love. It was gorgeous and it sort of saddened me to know that the space would go unused a lot of the time. It had beautiful dark wood cabinets and marbled flooring, and all the appliances were brand new.

"I'm in love," I told him as I began to unpack the groceries, and he let out a laugh.

"C'mon, I'll show you your room. I'll admit that I had some help decorating," he told me, grabbing my luggage and carrying it up the stairs after I'd put the groceries away.

I followed behind him and asked him if Sue had been the one to help him out with my room. He he told me that Esme Cullen had actually done most of it.

"This is your room," he told me, and I walked into the gasping when I saw it. It was gorgeous with a huge king size bed and tall windows that overlooked the woods.

Turning to Dad, I told him it was perfect and he grinned and told me to settle in, and that he'd order a pizza for dinner. I was cool with that and decided to unpack and then take a shower to wash off the plane ride.

Opening up my suitcase, I began to put my clothes away in the chest that was across from the bed, pulling out a pair of fleece pajama pants and a long sleeved shirt. Done with unpacking, I stowed my suitcase in the closet and made my way to the bathroom across the hall.

The bathroom was a pretty pale blue with matching bath mats and toothbrush holder. Esme Cullen had great taste, and I couldn't wait to thank her in person.

I opened the shower door and was relieved to see it was stocked with shampoo, conditioner, and soap. I hadn't wanted to take any with me on the plane, and I hated using Dad's stuff. It always made me feel like I smelled like a dude.

I took a nice long hot shower, and once I'd brushed my hair and put my warm pajamas on, I went downstairs to find Dad settled back in his recliner with a beer in his hand and ESPN on the T.V.

"Pizza should be here in about forty-five minutes," he told me as I curled up on the couch.

By the time we were done eating, I was exhausted and ready for bed even though it was barely eight o'clock. Dad told me to go ahead and get some sleep, and that he'd see me in the morning.

I'd left my phone up in my room when I'd come down for dinner, and I'd been so caught up in seeing my dad and being in Washington I'd forgotten to text Edward and let him know that I'd arrived safely.

And sure enough, I had a text from him making sure that I was okay, so I decided to give him a call.

"I am so sorry I forgot to text!" I apologized as soon as he answered, and he let out a chuckle.

"I figured that you were just excited to see your dad and forgot," he told me.

"I did. Forgive me?"

"Of course, sweet girl. So when do I get to see you?" he asked, and I sat down in the chair that was located near the windows.

"It'll probably be a couple of days. I know that Dad has the next two days off and he's introducing me to his girlfriend and her son tomorrow, so maybe Sunday or Monday."

"Let's meet up Monday. There will be more things open, and we can show you around our town," he suggested, and I eagerly agreed.

He offered to drive down to get me that I wouldn't have to inconvenience Charlie or attempt to find my way to Port Angeles on my own, and I told him that was fine. We agreed that he'd come get me around nine in the morning that way, we'd have the whole day to spend together so I was super excited.

"I can't wait to see you again," Edward said.

"I know! I'm so excited I can barely stand it," I told him.

"Well, I've got to go. Alice is dragging me to the salon tomorrow morning because apparently my hair is out of control."

I let out a giggle at hearing Edward use the word salon. For some reason, it struck me as funny.

"Well, don't let them cut too much of it. I like your crazy hair."

He let out what sounded like an embarrassed laugh and promised not to let them cut too much.

"Goodnight, Edward. I'll talk to you tomorrow."

"Goodnight, sweet girl," he said, and I practically swooned at his words.

* * *

"What can I do to help?" Dad asked me the next night as I was getting ready to make the lasagna.

"Get out of the kitchen and go drink a beer," I told him, and he let out a snort. Dad was pretty much a disaster in the kitchen, and while I was willing to teach him some simple recipes, I wasn't about to try and teach him how to make lasagna.

A little after seven, the doorbell rang, and I watched in fascination as Dad smoothed his hair down and straightened his shirt. I'd never seen him act like that before, and I was highly amused.

"Are you going to get that or stand there primping all night?" I teased, and he reached over and swatted me on the shoulder.

"Behave," he told me as he walked toward the door. I found it funny that he was so nervous about me meeting them while I wasn't nearly as nervous as I thought I would be. I was actually really excited to meet the woman with whom my dad was smitten.

I wiped my hands off on a paper towel before untying the apron I'd donned for cooking and made my way into the living room just as Dad opened the door.

I leaned against the wall as I watched Dad greet them, and he gave Sue a hug and a kiss on the cheek.

"Bella, come meet Sue and Seth," Dad said, and I walked over to them.

Sue was very pretty with copper colored skin and long black hair in a braid down her back. She seemed to be a few years older than Dad's thirty-six, but that didn't bother me at all. Sue's son, Seth, was a giant. The guy towered over me, but he had a friendly face and a nice smile.

I shook hands with both of them, and I told them it was wonderful to meet them before letting them know dinner would be ready soon.

Dad was obviously nervous as we all sat down for dinner, but I wasn't. I'd liked Sue and Seth right away, and I loved the way Sue teased Dad about how she was so sure he was going to grill fish for them.

"Oh, he wanted to," I told her, "but I put a stop to that. I figured he'd already grilled you fish, so I told him I'd make something."

Sue let out a laugh before thanking me.

"We've got to teach your dad some new recipes," she said, and I grinned at her.

"Already working on it. I figure he can at least learn to make macaroni and cheese."

Dad let out a teasing growl and told us to back off and that there was nothing wrong with grilling fish.

Dinner ended up being a huge success, and I watched fascinated as Seth ate three helpings of lasagna and half a loaf of garlic bread.

"I'm a growing boy," he told me after he caught me looking at him.

"I see that," I commented, and he flashed me a grin.

We got along really well and had quite a bit in common, particularly our love of cooking. Seth wanted to go to culinary school after he graduated high school, and he had dreams of owning his own restaurant. I admired the fact that he already knew what he wanted to do with his life. I only had a year left of high school, and I didn't have any clue what I wanted to do. Oh, I figured I'd go to college, but I didn't have a clue what I wanted to major in.

"It was wonderful meeting you, Bella," Sue said a few hours later before giving me a hug.

After she and Seth left, I turned to Dad.

"I like them," I told him, and he let out a small sigh of relief, and a huge smile crossed his face.

"Yeah, me too."

* * *

a/n: As always let me know what you thought! I'll see you next week.


	6. Chapter 6

A/N: I love that you all are loving this story. I'm having a great time writing it. A big thanks to my beta, Heather, for her awesome beta skills.

* * *

Come Monday morning, I found myself a nervous wreck as I opened the dresser drawers and tried to figure out what to wear to meet Edward.

After staring at them and my closet for close to five minutes, I pulled out my phone and texted Alice, begging for help. Her response was immediate and told me to just be myself and wear what I normally would.

Seeing as how she was of no help, I finally opted for dark skinny jeans, a blue sweater, and boots. I left my hair hanging down my back and applied some mascara and lip gloss. I looked like myself, just a bit more done up, and it wasn't as if Edward hadn't seen me looking gross and sweaty after a hike.

Grabbing my wallet and phone, I shoved them into my purse just as the doorbell rang. I took a deep breath to steady myself and made my way downstairs where I could hear my dad talking to Edward.

"Ah, there she is. Well, you two have fun. I'm off to work, but I should be home by six. Bells, I'd like you home no later than midnight," he said, giving me a hug before walking out the front door and leaving me alone with Edward.

Edward didn't say a word, just held open his arms, and I rushed into them. I inhaled the wonderful scent that was Edward and whatever cologne he used, and I found myself wanting to bury my fingers in his hair.

His strong arms wrapped around me, and I held on tight when he twirled me around, telling me how wonderful it was to see me, and I told him the same.

Finally, he set me down and told me that his family couldn't wait to see me. I was just as eager to see them, so I locked the front door and followed Edward out to his car, a shiny red Volvo.

The drive took about an hour, and we kept up a constant stream of conversation the whole time, never running out of things to talk about.

"How do you like Forks so far?" he asked as we pulled into a residential area.

"I haven't seen a whole lot of it, but I like what I have seen. Plus, I can't remember ever seeing my dad so happy and relaxed. Forks has been good for him."

"Yeah, it's a great place. We lived in Forks until fifth grade when Dad got a position as the head of surgery over at Olympic Medical Center. He could have made the commute every day, but Mom and Dad decided to move us to Port Angeles."

"And you like it here?"

He glanced over at me as he nodded his head.

"Yeah, I do. It's quite a bit bigger than Forks, and there's a lot more to do here. Although, I still keep in touch and hang out with some kids in Forks."

A few minutes later, we'd driven out of the residential area and Edward turned down a small road that I almost missed.

"You live way out here?" I asked.

"Yep. Mom designed our house, and she wanted to live a little ways out."

He wasn't kidding. We drove on the small road for about a mile or so before a beautiful house appeared, surrounded by woods. I let out a gasp when I laid eyes on it.

"Wow," I mumbled, and Edward let out a chuckle.

"Yeah, it's a bit excessive, but it's home."

And what a home. It was huge with wood siding and a stone foundation, and I was in awe as I climbed out of Edward's car and looked around the front yard. The landscaping was amazing, and when I told Edward that, he said to wait until I saw the backyard.

I followed him up the front walk, and then we walked into a large living room. Before I could even take a look around, Alice ran up and tossed herself at me. I had no choice but to catch her, and I stumbled back a few feet, Edward placing a hand on my lower back to keep from falling over.

"You're here!" she chanted a few times while squeezing the breath out of me.

"Let her breathe, Alice," I heard Mrs. Cullen say, and I grinned when Alice let me go, mumbling an apology.

Soon, I was hugged by Mrs. Cullen, who, again insisted that I call her Esme, and then I was wrapped up in a huge hug by Emmett. Dr. Cullen had gotten called in to the hospital, but he would be back later in the day.

"Let's show you around," Alice said, grabbing my hand and tugging me toward what looked to be the kitchen.

I shot Edward a look as Alice pulled me away, and he mouthed an apology before following behind us.

"This is the kitchen, and that's the dining room," Alice said. They were both huge with white walls and wooden accents.

As I followed her from room to room, I found myself amazed and impressed. The Cullen house was huge, and eventually, Alice led me outside to the backyard. My mouth dropped open when I saw it. There was a fire pit and a small pond with a waterfall.

"It's beautiful," I told them.

"So, I figured we could hit up the Fine Arts Center if you want and maybe the Marine Life Center as well," Edward said as we walked back into the living room a little while later.

"Sounds good to me," I told him.

"We'll pick up lunch, too, and then maybe we can do a bit of shopping," Alice said, causing both Edward and Emmett to moan.

"Okay, but no marathon shopping," I said, pointing a finger at her.

"Oh, I have something for you," I told Edward after Alice ran upstairs to grab her purse.

"Yeah?" he asked, his face lighting up like a kid at Christmas.

"Well, it's not much. You'll have to wait to get your Christmas present until the end of the week, but I thought you should have this," I told him, pulling out a postcard from Forks that I'd picked up at the grocery store my first day in town.

He grinned as he took it from me, and I noticed Emmett looking between the two of us.

"I don't get it," he said. "It's just a postcard."

"It's more than that," Edward said softly, his gaze catching mine, and I felt a blush creeping up my cheeks.

"Thank you," he said, and I smiled at him.

"Let me show you my room while I put this away," he said, and I followed him up the stairs, ignoring Emmett and his wagging eyebrows.

Edward's room was just as beautiful as the rest of the house. White walls with a dark blue trim, a huge bed, a couch, and a ton of bookshelves. He also had a whole wall of windows that overlooked the woods, and you could even see the water beyond them.

"This is so you," I told him as I continued to look around.

He grabbed a photo book off a bookshelf as I wandered over toward a picture that was sitting on his bedside table. I picked it up, feeling all kinds of tingly, as I saw it was a picture of us that Alice had taken. The fact that he kept it on his bedside table seemed so intimate, and it made me feel all sorts of warm.

"That's a good picture of us," he said, noticing that I'd picked it up.

"Yeah, it is," I said quietly, setting it back down and looking over at him.

He had tucked the postcard into a slot in the photo book, and that's when I noticed all of the other postcards that I'd sent him.

"You've kept them all," I commented as I reached for the book and flipped through it.

"Of course. You gave me the idea after you told me that you collected them. I even framed a few with them," he told me, pointing to the far wall where I spotted a couple of postcards from Florida and Arizona in frames.

"That's a great idea," I said, and he told me that his mom had come up with it. I didn't know why I hadn't thought of it, but I was totally going to steal the idea.

A few minutes later, the four of us were climbing into Edward's car and driving toward the art center.

We had a great morning and by the time we stopped for lunch, I was starving. We went to a little Italian place, and once we were seated, our waitress came over and practically fell all over herself to talk to Edward.

"Hi," she said in a breathy voice. "My name's Amber, and I'll be your server."

She handed Edward his menu all while leaning in and getting all up in his personal space.

I had to bite my tongue in order to not tell the woman to lay off, but Edward handled it perfectly by ignoring the advances she was pathetically attempting to make. Not that I was jealous or anything.

As soon as the woman took our drink orders and left, Emmett let out a sigh.

"Damn, Edward. We just can't take you anywhere," he teased, and Edward's face turned red as he muttered for Emmett to shut up.

"So, what's good here?" I asked in a pathetic attempt to change the subject.

"Everything," the three of them said, and I rolled my eyes at them as I picked up the menu.

I finally decided on the mushroom ravioli after a long debate between that and the chicken parmesan, and it seemed that as soon as Edward had decided on what to order, our waitress showed up.

"What can I get you?" she asked him.

"Bella, why don't you go ahead and order?" Edward suggested, and it was almost comical to watch as her face fell.

She turned to me as I placed my order, but she didn't once speak to me. Her tip wasn't going to be very big; that was for sure. She did the same thing to Alice and Emmett, only speaking when Edward ordered.

"Seriously?" Alice sneered once the woman had walked away. "She does realize there are three other people at this table, right? Hmph. Well, I sure as hell won't be tipping her generously."

Thankfully, our server left Edward alone once it got super busy, although she did practically salivate all over him when serving our lunch.

"Can I get you anything else?" she asked him, and when he shook his head, she started to walk away.

"You could ask the rest of us," I told her before she got too far. "I need a refill."

Her face turned red, and Emmett couldn't hold back a snicker as he held up his empty glass.

"Yeah, a refill would be nice."

She practically snatched our glasses off the table before marching away, and I shook my head at her incompetence.

"Is it always this difficult to go out to eat with you?" I asked Edward, half teasing him and half serious.

"Occasionally," he said. "But this is the worst it's been in a while. Normally, when we come here, we don't have any problems."

Lunch was delicious, and when it came time to get the bill, our waitress slipped her number in there as she handed it to Edward. Disgusted, he handed it back to her, telling her he wasn't interested, and Emmett about died trying to hold his laughter in.

"What now?" Emmett asked once we were out in the parking lot.

"Shopping!" Alice sang, and I let out a laugh at the horror on both boys faces.

Reluctantly, Edward drove us downtown and pulled into a public parking lot, and we all got out of the car. Soon, I was following Alice down the sidewalk, listening as she chattered on about the cute little stores the town had to offer.

"Is there a bookstore?" I asked her, and she rolled her eyes at me.

"You sound like Edward whenever we go somewhere," she said with a sigh, but I knew she was teasing. "Yes, there's a bookstore down the road, and yes, we can go in."

I didn't need any clothes, and since Christmas was later in the week, I really didn't have much money to spend, but I always had money for books.

About an hour later, Emmett was whining so loudly that I was ready to smack him upside the head the way Alice had done only moments before. He was complaining that he was cold, that he was tired, and that his feet hurt. On and on it went until finally, Alice told us we could go.

"How was your day out?" Esme asked once we were back at the Cullen house.

"Fine until Emmett started whining like a two year old," Alice said, sticking her tongue out at her brother.

Esme let out a small laugh and asked Alice if she was really surprised.

"Hey now!" Emmett protested. "It's not my fault that I don't like shopping. I'm a guy."

"So is Edward, but I didn't hear him complaining," I replied with a smirk, and I grinned as Emmett's jaw dropped open while the rest of their family cracked up.

"Oh, yeah. You'll fit in just fine around here," Esme said, giving me a wink.

* * *

a/n: As always, I love to hear your thoughts. See you all next week.


	7. Chapter 7

A/N: You're getting this a bit early because I'm fairly busy tomorrow, so please enjoy. Big thanks to all of you for reading and reviewing. It totally makes my day! Also a huge thanks to my beta, Heather, for making sure those evil commas get put in the correct places.

* * *

A little after six-thirty, Dr. Cullen arrived home with dinner which had Esme a bit put out. Apparently, she'd been in the middle of preparing dinner for all of us, and it was comical to listen to them argue. Not that it could really be called an argument, more like a small tiff, that ended when Carlisle, who also insisted I call him that, smooched the hell out of Esme. I loved the fact that they were still so much in love after twenty years of marriage.

"Ugh," Emmett muttered, and Alice swatted him on the back of the head and told him to grow up.

"Oh, like you don't smooch on your girl?" I asked him.

"Hell, yes! All the freaking time, but I'm not old," he commented which led to Esme telling him that she wasn't old.

"I think it's sweet that you're parents are still in love," I said quietly. I couldn't ever recall my parents acting like that. They hadn't been overly affectionate to each other when they were married.

A little after ten, I said goodnight and goodbye to the Cullens, and I told them that I'd see them in a few days. We'd all decided to get together the day after Christmas to exchange gifts, and then I was leaving on the 27th. I was surprised at how badly I didn't want to go back home, but I shook it off. I always felt that way after hanging out with my dad, but this time, it was way worse, and I could only attribute that to the fact that Edward and his family were now in the picture.

"I had a great day," I told Edward as he drove me back to my dad's house.

"Me, too, despite the waitress and Emmett's whining," he said with a grin.

"Yeah, I could have done without those, but like I said, I had a great day."

We were quite as we drove into Forks, and I didn't want the day to end as he pulled into my Dad's driveway.

"I'll see you in a few days," he told me as he walked me up the front porch and to the door.

"Sounds good," I said, and before I could stop myself, I stood on my tip toes and placed a kiss on his cheek.

I had no idea what had possessed me to do that, and I was embarrassed as could be, but the smile blooming on Edward's face had me thinking that perhaps he didn't mind.

"Sweet dreams, Bella," he said softly, running the tip of a finger across my cheek which was bright red.

I let out a sigh as I watched him walk away and was completely startled when the door behind me opened.

"You gonna stand there all night, or are you coming in?" Dad asked, startling me and causing me to jump.

"I'm coming in," I mumbled, my face still a bright red.

"I take it that you had a good time," Dad commented before I could make a run for it and hide in my room.

"Yep," I told him as I tried to sneak my way past him and toward the stairs.

"And the kiss?" he asked, and my head dropped to my chest as I let out a groan.

"Seriously, Dad? You were spying on me?" I asked, trying to change the subject.

"I heard a car pull into the drive, and I opened the curtain to see who it was. I wasn't spying on you, so don't change the subject," he said, his voice taking on a slightly stern tone.

"It was just a friendly peck on the cheek. Nothing more," I told him.

"But, you want there to be more?" Dad asked, and I let out a sigh as I shrugged.

"It doesn't matter. It can't be more while he's here and I'm in Florida."

Dad took my arm and led me over to the couch. He sat down beside me and pretty much told me the same thing Mom had. That if Edward and I wanted it to work, we'd find a way.

"Yeah, well, I don't even know if he likes me like that, so it doesn't even matter," I said quietly as I stared at my hands.

"Bells, that boy is crazy about you. How many times has he texted you just to say hey? How many postcards has he sent you ever since he found out that you collect them? And, I see the way he looks at you. I may have to have a talk with him."

"You really think he likes me?" I asked but then told him not to answer that. "Ugh. I'm acting like such a girl."

Dad raised an eyebrow, and I rolled my eyes at him before telling him I was going to bed.

* * *

Christmas day was spent exchanging gifts with Dad while eating chocolate chip pancakes and scrambled eggs. It was the one meal Dad was fairly good at cooking, and he'd make it for me whenever I stayed with him.

I'd saved up a bit of money and gotten Dad a fancy fishing pole, and he'd given me a new MP3 player and a gift card to Barnes and Nobles.

A little after ten, Mom called me, and I made my way up to my room to talk to her in private. Not that I really cared if Dad overheard me, but he was watching something on the TV, and I didn't want to bother him.

"Merry Christmas, Mom! Are you having a good one?"

"Merry Christmas to you, too! And my Christmas is going amazingly," she said before going on to tell me that Phil had proposed to her.

"Congratulations!" I told her.

I wasn't quite sure how I felt about her engagement. She and Phil hadn't been dating that long, and while he was a nice guy, I wasn't sure if I was ready for him to be my stepfather.

"Thanks, baby," she said. "We want to have a small wedding soon, and we need to figure out where we're all going to live."

"Wait. What?" I asked. "Why would we be moving?"

I was confused as to why Phil couldn't just move in with us. He lived in a small apartment across town, so it wasn't like he had a mortgage or anything.

"Phil has been offered a coaching position at West Virginia University in Morgantown, West Virginia. He starts next week in order to be there for the start of the season in February, so he's out there now looking for a house."

"So what you're saying is that we're moving to West Virginia?" I asked, anger rising in my voice. This was not the sort of news I wanted to hear on Christmas. Hell, I didn't want to hear it at all.

"No, that's not what I'm saying, Isabella," she said in a sharp voice. "What I'm saying is that Phil is moving to West Virginia. Would I like to be with him? Yes, of course I would, but I also wanted to talk to you about it."

I took a deep breath and gave myself a minute to calm down. I loved my mom to death, and I certainly couldn't deny her her happiness, plus it would be unfair of me to make her live in Jacksonville while her fiancé was in West Virginia.

"Then I guess we're moving," I said quietly.

Later that night, I called Edward and told him everything. He let me vent about what I was feeling and how upset I was.

"Starting over is rough, but you can handle it," he told me, and I agreed but that wasn't the point.

The point was that I didn't want to start over in a new state, a new city, and a new school where I knew no one. That was when an idea came to mind. If I was going to have to move no matter what, I might as well move where I knew people. I should just move in with Dad. I figured he'd be cool with it. At least I hoped he would be.

Unable to sleep, I got up and found Dad downstairs in the living room, watching some old western with John Wayne.

"What's up, kiddo?" he asked, and I curled up on the couch next to his recliner.

"Mom got engaged," I told him.

"That Phil guy? The baseball coach?"

I nodded my head before going on to tell him that Phil had gotten a job in West Virginia and how Mom wanted to be with him.

"I want her to be happy, but I don't want to move to West Virginia. Plus, I don't know Phil all that well, and I don't want to have to make new friends and all that crap," I said with a sigh before taking a deep breath. "So, I was wondering if I could just stay here with you. I know I'd still have to make some new friends, but I also have friends here already."

Dad set down the mug that he'd been drinking out of and muted the T.V.

"You know I'd love to have you live with me, but you need to talk this over with your mother," he said, and I nodded, knowing that he was right.

Early the next morning, I called Mom and discussed the idea of me living with Dad. Mom was a little upset, but she also understood. Especially once I reminded her she'd be able to enjoy that honeymoon period without me around.

"Bella!" she said with a laugh. "You wouldn't be in the way. I love you."

"I love you, too. I just think this would be a good change for both of us."

In the end, Mom agreed to let me live with Charlie, but I still had to go home for New Year's Eve.

Before I hung up the phone, Mom asked to speak with Charlie, and they began to hash out the details of everything.

* * *

At ten in the morning on December 27, I was getting ready to leave Dad's to go to the airport. I wasn't ready to leave, but I had promised Mom I'd spend New Year's Eve with her, otherwise I would have stayed.

I'd spent the day before with the Cullens, exchanging gifts, and Edward had given me a necklace with a round charm on it that had a small piece of a page from _Harry Potter_ tucked in it. I loved it, and I'd thanked him profusely. In return, I'd given him a new leather bound journal with his initials inscribed on the front, and he'd smiled in delight. I had let out a small, relieved sigh because I hadn't been so sure he'd like it although Alice had assured me he would.

I'd ended up getting Alice and Emmett gift cards to Amazon only because I didn't know what else to get them, and I felt bad because it seemed liked such an impersonal gift However, they both had assured me the gift cards were great.

I'd also shared the news that I was moving to Forks which had resulted in squeals from Alice, a loud whoop from Emmett, and an ear-to-ear grin from Edward. They'd been just as thrilled as I was, and I couldn't wait for the move to be official.

"I'm not ready for you to go," Alice said as she hugged me goodbye in my dad's living room.

I let out a small laugh at her pouting.

"I'll be back before you know it," I said with a grin.

"Yeah, I know. But still."

Alice and her siblings had shown up to say goodbye to me despite the fact that I'd be seeing them shortly.

Emmett wrapped me up in a huge hug before handing me over to Edward.

As soon as his arms wrapped around me, I had to fight back the tears that were threatening to fall.

"Call me as soon as you land, okay?" he said, and I promised I would, my voice muffled against his shirt.

"I'll talk to you soon, sweet girl," he whispered in my ear before placing a gentle kiss on my cheek.

I nodded as I pulled away, wiping away a stray tear that fell. It was so stupid to be crying. I was acting like I'd never see him again, but I would be back in less than a week. Not to mention the fact that we'd text and call one another the whole time I was gone.

I waved goodbye to them as I climbed into Dad's Jeep, and we began the three and a half our journey to Seattle. It was a quiet ride, and we spent the drive talking about the changes to come. Dad laid down some ground rules — which I was fine with — and he told me that he'd enroll me at Forks High as soon as the school opened back up.

"I have to admit, I'm a bit nervous," I told him.

"Well, this is a big change, Bells. It's normal that you'd be nervous. I'm a bit nervous myself, but we'll make it work."

All too soon we arrived at the airport, and I hugged my dad goodbye before boarding the plane.

Many hours later, I was landing in Jacksonville, and I had to admit the warm weather was a nice change from the cold of Washington. A cold that I'd better get used to.

"Bella!" Mom cried out as soon as I stepped off the plane, and I waved as I made my way toward her.

She wrapped me up in a hug, asking how my trip was. I told her all about it as we drove home and showed her the necklace Edward had gotten me.

"Oh, that's so sweet."

I checked out the rock that Phil had given her, and I had to give the guy credit, he knew how to pick out a beautiful ring and a large one at that.

After we arrived home, I stopped Mom from grabbing my suitcase and asked her if she was really okay with me moving in with Dad.

"I wasn't at first," she confessed, running a hand over my hair. "You've always lived with me, and not having you around is going to take some getting used to, but I want you to be happy. So, yes, I'm okay with it."

Once I was settled in, Mom showed me pictures of the house that Phil had bought, and she made me promise to visit often. It was going to be strange for me as well, and I found myself giving her a fierce hug. I was going to miss her terribly, but I had a feeling this move was going to be good for both of us.

"I picked up some moving boxes for you," she told me a while later. "Once you're packed, we'll ship them that way you don't have to wait too long to get your stuff."

Mom and I spent the rest of the evening, vegging on the couch, watching rom-coms, and eating junk food. I was really going to miss doing this with her on the weekends, but I was sure that Alice would be willing to join me for some rom-com marathons.

"So when do you leave to join Phil?" I asked her once the movie was over.

"I put in my two week notice at the school, and I'll be putting the house on the market probably next week. Of course, I have a ton of packing to do as well."

"What about a job?" I asked her.

"I have to get certified to teach in the state of West Virginia, and then I can get a teaching job there. Besides, not working for a while will allow me to go to Phil's away games."

She seemed absolutely thrilled at the idea of being able to travel with Phil and to just be with him, and it warmed my heart to see her so in love.

* * *

a/n: Things are moving right along. As always, let me know what you thought! See you next Saturday.


	8. Chapter 8

A/N: Thank you all so much for reading and reviewing! It makes my day. Huge thanks to my beta, Heather, for her awesome beta'ing skills.

* * *

I spent New Year's with Mom and Phil, watching the countdown in Time Square and drinking soda to ring in the New Year. Of course, I didn't have anybody to kiss when the ball dropped, but I did send a text to Edward with a few party emojis.

My phone rang a few seconds later, and I excused myself, making my way up to my room which was looking quite sparse since a majority of my stuff was packed away.

"Happy New Year!" I blurted out as I answered the phone, and he let out a laugh.

"I've still got three hours to go, silly girl," he teased, and it was my turn to let out a laugh.

"Yeah, I forgot about that. Well, happy New Year anyway."

We talked for several hours, and I told Edward that I was all packed and so ready to get back to Washington. He told me that he was ready for me to come back as well, and I couldn't help but smile at his words.

"I'm a bit nervous about starting school in such a small town," I confessed a few minutes later. 'In Jacksonville, I was just one of hundreds who pretty much went unnoticed. I have a feeling that won't be the case in Forks."

"Yeah, you'll definitely be noticed, sweet girl, and not just because you're the new girl either."

A blush crept up my cheeks, and I was so glad that Edward couldn't see me.

"I highly doubt that," I muttered.

"You're beautiful, Bella, but you don't even realize it, do you?"

"Oh, please tell me you're not going to break out into that One Direction song," I begged which caused Edward to let out a loud laugh.

"I wouldn't do that to you," he said, and I let out a sigh.

A little after three in the morning, Edward and I said goodnight, and I was surprised at how wide awake I was. Tiptoeing down to the kitchen, I peaked into the living room, glad to see it was empty. I would have hated to interrupt Mom and Phil while they were snuggling, kissing, or doing anything else intimate-like. I'd already done that once before, and it had been embarrassing for all of us.

Opening up the fridge, I stared at the contents before grabbing a yogurt and a bottle of water. I grabbed a spoon out of the drawer, and snagged two chocolate chip cookies out of the cookie jar, and made my way back to my room.

I sat on my bed, eating my snacks and watching videos on YouTube, for an hour until sleep finally kicked in.

Mom woke me up around eleven the next morning although I could have probably slept for a week. She told me that we needed to ship my stuff so that it would arrive shortly after I did.

With Phil's help, we loaded all of my boxes into the back of his SUV and drove them to the local FedEx. Within an hour, all the boxes were labeled and ready to be shipped. I hoped like hell that none of my stuff got lost or broken along the way.

* * *

"You're coming out for spring break, right?" Mom asked as we waited for my flight to be called a couple of days later.

"Yep. I'll get the dates to you as soon as I know them," I promised, and she sniffled a bit. Saying goodbye to my mom was harder than I thought it would be, and I had to blink back tears.

"Please don't cry," I begged because if she began to cry, I'd lose it.

"I'm not. I promise," she said, giving me a hug after she'd parked at the curbside.

I clung to her for a few extra seconds before pulling away and telling her I loved her. Then, taking a deep breath, I waved goodbye and made my way into the airport and through security.

Eight hours later, I was landing in Seattle, and I couldn't wait to get off the freaking plane. The flight had been full of turbulence, and I was so beyond tired of being cramped for eight hours, sitting next to a guy who smelled like beer.

I'd flown more times in the past month than I had in the last year, and I was sick of it. I would be glad not to have to fly anywhere for a while.

Dad was waiting for me when I finally got off the plane, and I grinned when I saw that he'd brought me a surprise in the form of Edward.

I rushed toward them, hugging my dad first and then Edward and clinging to him a little longer than I probably should have.

"Ready to go home, Bells?" Dad asked, and I nodded, a huge smile on my face.

The trip home, which was going to take some getting used to saying, went by surprisingly quick, and I think it was because I had Edward to talk to. Not that Dad and I didn't talk as well. I caught them both up on my New Year's and how packing all my stuff had been a pain.

"Oh, it should be arriving in the next few days," I told Dad who promised to be on the lookout for the FedEx guy.

"School starts on Monday," he then told me, and I made a face. While I was looking forward to living in Forks and with Dad, I wasn't looking forward to starting a new school.

"I've already registered you, so all you have to do on Monday morning is pick up your schedule at the front office."

"Thanks, Dad."

"Yep. It's quite a ways from the house, but I figured you could drive the Jeep since I'll be using the cruiser."

"Sweet! Thanks so much!" I exclaimed, a grin on my face.

I hadn't given my transportation to school much thought because in Jacksonville, I'd always gotten a ride with one of my friends. Friends who were upset at the situation but had promised to keep in touch. We'd see how long that lasted. Not one of them had come by to see me off or even sent me a text wishing me luck.

"Just promise me that you'll be safe. No talking or texting on your phone while driving, and once winter hits, you'll need to be extra cautious since you've never driven in snow or on ice."

"I promise."

The whole way to Dad's house—my house—I had a stupid little grin on my face. Not only because I had Edward by my side and I would be seeing him way more often than I thought I ever would but I now had wheels.

Once we got home, Edward stayed for a little while but soon had to leave to get back home. I thanked him for being at the airport, and a cute little blush showed on his cheeks.

"I wanted to be there when you came home," he said sweetly, and I found myself reaching out and giving his arm a squeeze.

"Well, thank you."

* * *

Come Monday morning, I was a nervous wreck as I checked out my reflection in the bathroom mirror. I'd spent more than a few minutes, fiddling with my hair and tugging at my clothes before deciding that I looked good enough. It's not like I was trying to win any beauty or fashion contests. I needed to just be me.

With one last glance in the mirror, I made my way out of the bathroom and downstairs where my shoes and backpack were waiting. I slipped my feet into my well-worn purple Chuck Taylors, put my coat on, and grabbed the gray backpack that held a few notebooks and some pens and pencils.

"Do you want me to go with you?" Dad asked as I quickly peeled the banana that was serving as my breakfast.

"I'll be fine, Dad."

"Okay. Well, I won't be home until around six or so. Do you want me to pick up some burgers from the diner?"

"Yeah, that sounds good," I told him, glad that I wouldn't have to cook. I had a feeling that I was going to be exhausted after my first day.

Waving goodbye to Dad, I made my way out to the Jeep, tossing my bag in the passenger seat before getting behind the wheel.

I made the ten minute drive to Forks High School and pulled into a spot in the middle of the lot. Students were gathering around cars, getting out of cars, or walking toward the building, and I took a deep breath to steady my nerves.

"Here goes nothing," I muttered to myself as I grabbed my backpack and opened the car door.

I kept my head down as I hurried toward the front doors of the school, and once I was inside, I took a quick look around in search of a sign for the main office. Thankfully, I found a sign pointing me in the right direction, and I quickly made my way toward the office.

Once inside, I was greeted by a woman in her fifties with crazy bright red hair who introduced herself as Mrs. Cope.

I told her that I was new, and she handed me a schedule that she printed off as well as a piece of paper with my locker number and combination.

"And here's a map of the school," she said, handing me yet another piece of paper.

I thanked her and was about to leave when she called me back and handed me a smaller slip of paper. She informed me that my teachers needed to sign it, and I was to return it to her at the end of the day.

With papers in hand, I walked out the door and into the bustling hallway, pushing my way past students, in an attempt to find my first class of the day.

With minutes to spare before the bell rang, I finally found the classroom I was looking for and walked through the doorway. Immediately, heads turned my way, and I felt my face turning red.

Doing my best to ignore the stares, I made my way toward the teacher's desk and handed him the slip of paper Mrs. Cope had given me. He signed it, handed it back, and then gave me the giant literature book. Mr. Masen then directed me toward a seat in the back for which I was grateful.

With the book clutched tightly in my hands, I made my way toward the empty desk and took a seat.

Moments later, the guy who was sitting in front of me turned around and introduced himself as Mike Newton.

"Bella Swan," I replied, pulling a notebook out of my bag and setting it on my desk along with a pen.

"Where you from?"

"Florida."

"Wait. Are you related to the new chief of police?" he asked, and I nodded.

"Man, you must be a wild child, right? I bet you're a total rebel."

"You'd lose that bet," I told him, wishing he'd leave me alone, and I was incredibly grateful when Mr. Masen told Mike to turn around and stop talking.

My English class was enjoyable, with the exception of Mike, and when class was over, I put my stuff in my bag and made my way out the door with the rest of my classmates.

"Where you going next?" Mike asked me, and I held back an annoyed sigh.

"Uh, Calculus," I told him after I looked at my schedule.

Mike decided that he'd show me where the classroom was, and along the way, he introduced me to everyone he saw. I usually gave a polite nod, a small smile, or a quick wave, but I knew I wouldn't remember any of their names.

Once in my math class, my teacher made me stand in front of the class and introduce myself. My face was bright red, and I spoke as quickly as possible.

"Hi, I'm Jessica," a girl with a bad perm said from beside me, and her voice was full of venom. I couldn't even begin to imagine what I'd done to piss her off, seeing as how I'd never even met her.

"Bella."

"Well, Bella, I'm only going to tell you this once. Mike is mine. If I see you flirting with him again, there will be hell to pay."

I couldn't hold back the snort that left me because there was no doubt in my mind that I could take her down if I needed to. Plus, I wouldn't flirt with Mike if he was the last male on earth.

"Yeah, no worries about that. He's all yours," I replied, turning away from her and focusing on writing the date in my notebook.

"She's all bark and no bite," a quiet voice said from behind me, and I turned around to see a girl with glasses and long black hair.

"I'm Angela Weber. Welcome to Forks," she said, and I thanked her.

We spoke quietly for a few minutes until class started, and I found that I really liked Angela. She was the sort of person with which I could definitely be friends.

By the time lunch rolled around, I'd been stared at and whispered about, but at least I'd made a friend in Angela. Turned out that we had a few classes together, and she invited me to sit at lunch with her, her friends, and her boyfriend.

I followed the crowd of students into the cafeteria and got in line where I grabbed a pizza slice, an apple, and a lemonade. After paying for my lunch, I looked around the cafeteria until I spotted Angela and her friends, sitting around a round table near the back.

I made my way toward them, dodging people left and right, and Angela waved when she spotted me and pointed to the empty seat next to her.

"Everyone, this is Bella," she said before introducing me to her boyfriend, Ben, as well as the other kids around the table which were mainly guys.

"Here comes drama," this guy named Eric said, and I turned my head to see about whom he was talking.

"That's Lauren Mallory," he told me in a whisper. "She thinks she's the queen of the school, but really she's just a bitch with a nasty reputation and a horrible temper."

"Good to know," I murmured.

"Jessica is best friends with her, and as you already know, Jessica is dating Mike. It's an on again off again relationship, mainly because Mike tends to have wandering eyes and hands," Angela said.

"So, why did you move here?" Ben asked, and I explained to them that my dad had taken a job here as the Chief of Police and that my mom was moving to West Virginia, so I decided to come out here.

"It's hard starting over in a new place where you don't know anyone," Eric said, and I nodded my head in agreement.

"Very true, but thankfully, I have friends in Port Angeles," I told them, and as if he had heard me, my phone buzzed with a text from Edward.

_How's your first day going so far?_ he asked, and I grinned as I replied.

_Pretty good. I've made a friend with whom I'm sitting at lunch with._

_Excellent._

"Someone special?" Angela asked with a little smirk.

"Not yet. Just a friend for now, but I'm hoping that will change now that I've moved out here," I told her quietly hoping like hell that things would really change.

"What's his name?" she asked.

"Edward Cullen," I told her, and I watched as everyone's jaw dropped open. I wasn't sure if that was a good thing or a bad thing.

"You know Edward?" Ben asked a few moments later, and after a silence that left me feeling a bit unnerved, I nodded, telling them all how I'd met him over the summer camping.

"That is so awesome!" Angela said with a huge grin. "He's been one of our good friends for years. We went to kindergarten together."

I grinned upon hearing that, glad to know that I'd made a good choice in becoming friends with Angela.

* * *

a/n: Yay! She's officially moved in. Let me know what you thought. I'll see you all next week.


	9. Chapter 9

**A/N: Sorry that this is getting to you a bit late. I'm on vacation and let myself sleep in for a bit. A huge thank you to all of you who read and review as well. And a big shout out to my beta, Heather, for making sure I have commas where they're needed and just making sure my story doesn't suck.**

* * *

The rest of the day went by fairly quickly, and I was glad to see that I had Angela, Ben, or Eric in at least one of my classes. That definitely made the day go by easier. Unfortunately, I had Mike and Jessica in a few of my classes as well, and Mike did his best to flirt with me, but I was having none of it.

By the time the day ended, Angela and I had exchanged phone numbers and had made plans to hang out on Saturday, and I was glad that my day had gone as well as it had.

I waved goodbye to her and Ben before climbing into the Jeep and driving home.

As soon as I was home, I pulled out my phone and gave Edward a call.

"So, my new friends are old friends of yours," I told him.

"Yeah? Who?"

"Angela Weber, Ben Cheney, and Eric something or other," I replied, and he let out a small laugh.

"Yorkie. Eric Yorkie," he said. "They're a great bunch, and we still hang out once in a while. At least you made friends with them and not, say, Jessica Stanley."

I wrinkled my nose at the girl's name.

"Yeah, she doesn't like me much. She warned me to stay away from her boyfriend, some annoying guy named Mike Newton."

"Mike's an asshole," Edward said, venom in his voice, and I was startled by it. "Stay away from him. He thinks he's God's gift to women and will do whatever he can to try and get you to sleep with him."

I let out a snort. "Yeah, well, you don't have to worry about that. He seems like a jerk."

We talked for half an hour before hanging up, and I sat down on my bed and opened up my literature book. I had a bit of reading to do, and after that, I calculus to tackle.

By the time Dad arrived home with dinner, I was frustrated, having stared at the equations in the book in front of me for at least five minutes, trying to make sense of them. Needless to say, I was glad for the reprieve and practically ran down the stairs in order to escape the hell that was calculus.

"How was your first day?" Dad asked once I was in the kitchen.

"Pretty good," I told him. "I made some friends who just happen to be friends with Edward."

"That's good to hear, although I wasn't too worried. You do tend to make friends easily."

As we ate our burgers at the kitchen table, I told him a bit more about school and my classes and how I was really hating math at the moment. Dad let out a chuckle but refused to help, only because he hated math just as much as I did.

"Oh, is it cool if I hang out with Angela this weekend?" I asked as I cleaned up our trash.

"You're seventeen, Bells, and responsible. Unless you plan on staying out all night or going to a party or something, I trust your judgement. All that I ask is that you let me know where you are and who you're with."

"In other words, you're fine with me hanging out with Angela," I teased with a grin.

"Yes, Bells. I'm fine with it."

* * *

By the end of the week, the novelty that was me had started to wear off, something for which I was grateful. Although, Mike Newton still continued to annoy me. He seemed to take every opportunity he could find to talk to me, try to touch me, or to pathetically flirt with me. All he was succeeding in doing was pissing me off as well as Jessica. Well, she was pissed off at me, not him, despite the fact that I had done nothing to encourage him.

"I'm having a party this weekend," Mike said during our last class of the day. "Want to come?"

"No thanks," I told him.

"Oh, c'mon. Why not?" he asked.

Before I could answer him, Jessica spoke up.

"Because she's boring. I doubt she goes to parties at all. She's probably still a virgin, too," she sneered, and I rolled my eyes at her little insults.

"I'd rather be boring than be arrested for underage drinking or supplying minors with alcohol," I commented because I was positive that my dad would end up breaking up the party.

"Whatever," Jessica muttered with an eye roll, and I just shook my head. The girl was a delusional idiot, and I was really tired of her crap.

"Your loss," Mike told me, and I shrugged.

I'd been to a few parties back in Jacksonville, but they weren't really my scene. I'd rather hang out at home or with a small group of friends.

"So, no go on Newton's party, huh?" Eric asked me as we walked out to the parking lot with Ben and Angela.

"Not my thing," I explained.

"Ours either," Angela said before asking if we were still on to hang out on Saturday. I told her we were, and she told me she'd pick me up around ten.

As for my Sunday plans, I was spending the day with Edward. Dad was going ice fishing with one of his deputies, so I'd invited Edward over to watch movies and hang out. He'd eagerly agreed, and I was so ready for the weekend.

Saturday morning, Angela picked me up in an ancient stationwagon and showed me around Forks. There wasn't a whole lot to see in January, and it was freaking cold, so we somehow ended up at the local bowling alley. I honestly couldn't remember the last time I'd gone bowling, but she seemed excited for it, so I agreed to do it.

It wasn't long before Ben, Eric, and some girl that Eric was seeing showed up. I was left as the third wheel, so to speak, but I didn't really mind.

Once we had our shoes and had picked out a lane, we went to find bowling balls. I grabbed a pretty blue one and prayed to God my fingers wouldn't get stuck in the little holes. Thankfully, they didn't, so I carried it back to our lane.

We had a blast, bowling throughout the afternoon, and even though I lost, I had a ton of fun. We decided to make it a monthly thing.

"What are your plans for tomorrow?" Angela asked as she drove me home after we'd all gone out to eat.

"Edward's coming over. We're just gonna chill and watch movies," I told her.

"Are you going to make a move?" she asked, and I shook my head.

"Maybe you should. I asked Ben out last year. It was nerve wracking but so worth it."

"I don't think I'm that brave," I said. "Besides, as old fashioned as it sounds, I'd prefer that he make the first move. That way, at least I know he's interested."

Sunday morning, I woke up, nervous as could be, and told myself I was being silly. It was just Edward. Although this would be the first time we'd ever hung out alone.

I'd told Dad yesterday evening that Edward was going to come over for the day, and he was fine with it. He just told me to be careful and not to do anything he wouldn't do, and I'd made a face at that. The thought of my dad making out with anyone was a disturbing image, not that I was planning on making out with Edward at the moment.

A quick glance at the clock told me I'd slept way later than I'd planned. Iit was already after ten, and Edward was coming over at eleven. Moving quickly, I took the fastest shower I could, without slipping and killing myself, and then I spent too much time trying to decide what to wear.

Rolling my eyes at myself, I threw on some jeans and a long-sleeved henley, leaving my hair down. I told myself that I looked fine, and I made my way downstairs to check out the contents of the fridge.

I decided that I'd make BLT's for lunch, and I hoped Edward was okay with that, but I decided to wait until he showed up.

At eleven on the dot, the doorbell rang, and I smoothed my hair and took a deep breath before opening the door. Edward stood on the other side, and he looked absolutely gorgeous. He was wearing dark jeans with a hole in the knee and a faded worn t-shirt underneath a leather jacket.

"Hey," I said with a smile, and he grinned at me before leaning in for a hug. I was glad to hug him back, loving the feel of his arms and the smell of him.

"Come on in," I told him after we broke apart, and I ushered him in.

"So, I figured we could do BLTs for lunch unless you want something else," I said as I walked toward the kitchen with Edward following me.

"Sounds delicious. Need any help?" he asked, and a few minutes later, I set him up slicing tomatoes while I fried the bacon.

Once he was done, I had him cut up the lettuce, and I grinned as I watched him massacre it.

A few minutes later, we were seated across from each other at the table, eating our BLTs with potato chips and sodas.

As we ate, we talked about school as well as other stuff, and Edward told me that Tanya had begun trying to talk to him again.

"I thought she was dating some James guy," I mumbled around a bite of sandwich.

"She was, but I guess they broke up, so now she's wanting us to be together again," he said, and I almost choked on my sandwich.

"You're not getting back together with her, are you?" I asked, a hint of panic in my voice.

Edward let out a short laugh. "Um, no. Been there, and done that. Besides, I've got a new girl in my life."

"You do?" I asked, hoping like hell that he was talking about me.

"Yeah, but I'm not so sure she likes me the way I like her. I guess there's only one way to really find out," he said.

"Oh. How's that?"

"I guess I'm going to have to ask her out and hope that she says yes," he told me, and I felt butterflies erupt in my stomach.

"Well, I have no doubt that she'll say yes."

As we finished eating and then cleaned up, I waited for him to ask me out, and then I began to think that, perhaps, I wasn't the girl he'd been talking about. That led to a horrible feeling in my stomach, and I started to gnaw on my bottom lip.

"Hey, sweet girl. What's causing this?" Edward asked, gently pulling my bottom lip away from my teeth.

I shook my head as I told him it was nothing, and that I was just being silly.

"It can't be that silly if it has you doing that. You told me you only chew on your bottom lip when you're upset. Have I done something to upset you?"

"Of course not," I told him as I stared into his beautiful green eyes that were filled with concern.

"Are you sure?"

I nodded before changing the subject and asking him if he was up for a _Resident Evil_ marathon, and he nodded.

We made our way into the living room, and he sat down on the couch as I put in the DVD. Grabbing the remote, I made my way over to him and sat down next to him and pushed play.

I relaxed as we watched the movie, grinning when we'd quote the same lines. Occasionally, we'd argue over a character or the plot line, but by the time the first movie was over, I was feeling more like myself again.

"Ready for round two?" I asked, and he nodded.

By the time the last movie was watched, it was well into the evening, and my dad would be coming home soon. I asked Edward if he wanted to stay for dinner, but he told me couldn't.

"I'd love to, but I have some homework I need to finish, that I've been putting off," he told me, but I wondered if he was just making an excuse not to be around when my dad showed up.

"Well, you're gonna be missing out on some awesome grilled fish," I said with a grin, and he let out a laugh.

"How often do you end up eating that?" he asked, and I let out a small laugh as I told him far too often.

"Bella, can I ask you something?"

"Sure," I told him as we walked out to his car, and I shivered as a cold rush of wind hit me.

"Would you like to go on a date with me?"

"I'd love that," I replied, a huge smile crossing my face as I tried to keep from squealing loudly.

An equally huge smile crossed Edward's face as well.

"Fantastic!" he exclaimed. "How about one night this week? Maybe Wednesday? We can go out for dinner."

"That sounds great!"

We both had cheesy smiles on our faces, and after we hugged each other goodbye, I stood there, watching as he drove off. Eventually, the cold kicked in, and I made my way back into the house where I began preparing a salad to go with the fish that was in the freezer.

I decided that I'd pan sear the fish and add in some cajun spices just to kick things up. I was just glad that Dad liked spicy food and was willing to let me experiment with my cooking. Unlike my mother, however, I didn't experiment to the point where my concoctions were inedible.

"Man, that smells good," Dad said about twenty minutes later as he walked in the door.

"Cajun bass with salad and baked potatoes," I hollered from the kitchen.

"Excellent. So how was your day with Edward?" he asked a while later as we ate.

"Good. Um …," I trailed off, trying to find the best way to approach the subject of me dating. "He asked me out on a date for sometime this week. We still need to finalize the plans."

Dad didn't seem surprised at all.

"Since it's going to be on a school night, I will want you home by ten," he said, and I agreed. I didn't think that was unreasonable at all.

"Are you nervous?" Dad asked me, and I shrugged before admitting that I was a tad bit nervous about my upcoming date. Okay, so I wasn't so much nervous about the date itself but about how our relationship was changing.

Later that night as I was curled up in bed, I got a text from Alice who was beyond thrilled that Edward and I were going on date.

She kept texting me until I finally told her I had to go to bed and I'd talk to her tomorrow.

* * *

**a/n: As always, let me know what you thought!**


	10. Chapter 10

A/N: Thanks so much to everyone for reading and reviewing! I'll let you get on with the story. Oh, and mad props to my beta, Heather, for helping me out.

* * *

Come Wednesday morning, butterflies had taken up permanent residence in my stomach, and I had to keep telling myself that I was being silly, and there was nothing to be nervous about.

Alice and Angela were both coming over after school to help me get ready for my date with Edward, and I was glad to have their help. I had no idea what to do with my hair or what to wear, and I was glad not to have the added stress of trying to figure it all out.

"Ugh," I groaned during third period. "This day is never going to be over."

Angela let out a laugh at my whining.

"Yes, it will, and before you know it, you'll be on your date with Edward. And by the time Alice and I are done with you, Edward Cullen won't know what hit him."

A loud thunk had us both looking around, and we saw that Lauren Mallory had dropped her book on the floor, and she was staring at both of us.

"Problem?" I asked with a raised eyebrow.

She shot me a dirty look before picking up her book and then pulling out her phone. She went on a texting frenzy, and I turned to Angela, asking what that was all about.

"Lauren and Jessica have been crushing on Edward for years," she whispered to me.

"Great. Now they can hate me even more," I snickered.

Angela shot me a smirk.

"Yep. Not only is Mike after you, but now you're going out with Edward. You're just hot shit," she teased, and I let out a laugh.

Later on during lunch, Lauren and Jessica made their way over the table where I sat with Angela, Ben, and Eric.

"Rumor has it that you're going on a date with Edward Cullen, but we all know that can't possibly be true, now can it?" Lauren sneered as the two girls sat down uninvited.

"Yeah, you've only been here like a week, so this pathetic ploy of yours isn't going to work," Jessica said, tossing her 1980's permed hair behind her shoulder.

"Not that it's any of your business, but I met Edward earlier this summer, and we became really good and really close friends," I told them.

"Whatever. We all know you're lying," Lauren stated, standing up and stalking off with Jessica following behind her.

I couldn't help but let out a snort at their behavior.

"Wow," Ben said quietly. "I don't think I've ever seen Lauren so jealous before. I think you should watch your back around her, Bella. She can get nasty."

Eric nodded his head in agreement, but I wasn't overly concerned, and I told them that.

"Don't worry, I can handle myself. I've taken several self-defense courses. Neither of those girls would be able to hold their own against me."

My statement caused my friends to crack up, but I wasn't kidding. I had no doubt I could kick both Jessica's and Lauren's asses without any problem.

As soon as the bell rang, signaling the end of the day, I booked it to my locker and met up with Angela in the parking lot. She was going to follow me home where Alice would meet us.

Alice pulled in an hour later with a rolling suitcase, and I asked her if she was planning on staying with me for a while. She told me to shut up before explaining that she had makeup, hairstyling tools, and clothing options in the suitcase.

Giving the case a sideways look, I began to wonder what I'd gotten myself into.

The first thing the girls did was go through my dresser and closet, and then Alice opened her case and pulled out some dresses, long skirts, and tops. I wrinkled my nose at the thought of having to wear a dress, and Alice must have seen me.

"Here, try these on," Alice said, thrusting a brown knit sweater dress at me before asking me if I owned a pair of black leggings or tights. I had both, so I grabbed the leggings because I preferred them over tights and made my way into the bathroom.

I came back out a few minutes later, and both Alice and Angela gave me a thumbs up. They told me to pair it with the brown boots I had in the closet. I grabbed them and put them on, not really sure how it was going to look all together, but the end result was really cute.

Angela then set me down in my desk chair and got to work on my hair. She brushed it out and then began doing something with it, giving me instructions on how to make some kind of celtic knot on the back of my head with the rest of my hair hanging down. I was pretty sure it was too complicated for me to do on my own, but she promised me it wasn't.

The very second Angela was done with my hair, Alice began working on my makeup. I hoped like hell she didn't go crazy.

"Relax, Bella. I'm not going to make you look like a ten dollar hooker," she said when I expressed my concerns.

About an hour after we'd started, I was deemed gorgeous and ready to go. Granted, I still had an hour before Edward showed up, and I spent that hour, pacing and trying not to fiddle with my hair.

"Oh, you need jewelry," Alice commented as she stared at me, and Angela agreed.

"I don't do jewelry," I mumbled, but I wasn't heard. Well, I probably was, but they definitely ignored me. Alice loaned me a cute bracelet and made me put in some earrings.

All too soon, the doorbell rang, and I was glad that Dad wasn't home to greet Edward at the door with a gun in his hand. Not that he would do that, but then again, maybe he would. Afterall, I'd never lived with him while I was dating.

"Go put on some lip gloss," Alice demanded as she went to open the door, and I didn't even bother to try and argue.

I went into the downstairs bathroom and applied the light pink lipgloss, and noticing my hands were shaking. I took a calming breath and opened the door when Alice hollered out that Edward was there, like I didn't already know.

I had the satisfaction of seeing Edward's jaw drop open, and a blush crept up my cheeks.

"You look beautiful," he said in a tone that sounded like it was full of awe.

"Thank you. You look mighty nice yourself," I said, and he did. He was wearing khaki pants with a dark buttondown shirt and a nice jacket.

The four of us left the house, and I locked the door and then followed Edward to his car.

"Have fun you two!" the girls called out, and I waved goodbye to them as I climbed into Edward's car.

Shutting my door, he walked around, climbed in, and began the drive to Port Angeles.

We'd decided to go there because I didn't want to spend our first date being gawked at in Forks, and I was sure would happen. Plus, Port Angeles had more restaurants for us to choose from.

We decided to go to a semi-fancy steak house that Edward had been wanting to try. I was a huge fan of steak, so that worked out well.

"Nervous?" Edward asked me a few minutes after we'd been on the road.

"A little bit. You?"

He nodded. "Just a tad, but I'm not worried. I know I'll have a great time just because I get to spend time with you."

"You are too damn sweet," I said, and he let out a small embarrassed laugh.

* * *

"What can I get you, sweetie?" our older waitress asked Edward, and I couldn't help but smile. No matter how old they were, women couldn't keep their eyes off of him or resist talking to him. I found it amusing in this instance.

Edward ordered a glass of water with a lemon slice, and I did the same before picking up my menu. I winced as I looked at the prices, and Edward must have seen me because he told me not to even worry about it.

I'd been eyeing the surf and turf dinner plate, and Edward encouraged me to get it while he decided on a sixteen ounce filet mignon.

"There's no way you'll be able to eat that whole thing," I commented once we'd placed our orders. "Emmett, yes. You, no.

Edward let out a laugh. "Oh, sweet girl, you have no idea. Emmett and I used to have eating competitions all the time. I've learned to eat large portions."

I shook my head at the thought of the two of them shoving food into their faces, and I had to admit, it kind of grossed me out.

"Thanks for agreeing to come out with me," Edward said shortly before our food arrived.

"I've been crushing on you for a while, Edward. Of course I was going to say yes," I blurted out. Feeling my face turn bright red, I wondered why in the world I'd told him that.

"Yeah?" he asked. "Well, don't worry. I found myself falling for you almost right away."

I beamed at his words, and my heart fluttered.

Fifteen minutes later, our food arrived, and I watched as Edward went to town on his steak. I, on the other hand, took my time cutting up my steak and savoring each delicious bite. My lobster tail was delicious as well, and I offered Edward a bite, holding out my fork.

I had to hold back a moan as his lips wrapped around my fork and hoped that I'd get the chance to feel those lips against mine at some point.

"Oh God," Edward said after we'd finished our meals. "I think I'm going into a food coma."

"I'm not surprised," I told him with a laugh. "You ate enough to feed an army."

By the time we left the restaurant, I wasn't ready for the night to end. I really hoped Edward felt the same way, and I was glad to hear I was right.

Edward suggested we go to a small park nearby for a short walk, and I was okay with that despite the cold in the air.

As we began our walk, Edward reached over and took my gloved hand in his, asking me if it was okay, and of course, I said yes.

"We should do this every week," he suggested in a quiet voice.

"I'd love that, but it doesn't have to be expensive dates all the time. As long as the two of us are just hanging out, I'm happy."

"So, you're willing to date me on a regular basis?" He asked, and I nodded as I gave his hand a gentle squeeze.

"Excellent. And if I asked you to be my girlfriend?"

"I'd love to," I said shyly. Suddenly, I found myself wrapped up in Edward's strong arms.

I buried my face into his chest before he gently tugged me away and brought his hands up to cup my face.

I stared into his beautiful green eyes and prayed that he was about to kiss me.

My prayer was answered.

Edward leaned down, pausing when his lips were a hairbreadth from mine. His eyes sought mine out as if asking for permission. He must have seen my answer because his lips lowered to mine.

I'd had my fair share of kisses over the years, but I'd never been kissed like that before.

Cold, firm lips press against mine, and then I felt his lips part, so I did the same. Seconds later, I felt his tongue gently stroking mine, and I let out a moan, my fingers finding their way into his wonderfully soft hair.

Our kiss lasted until we both needed air, and even then, I was reluctant to stop kissing him.

"I've been wanting to do that for a while," Edward said with a huge grin, his cheeks and lips bright red.

I had no doubt that mine looked the same, and I was sure my hair was wrecked but I didn't care. I was floating on air and couldn't remember having a better date.

"I suppose I should get you back home, what with it being a school night and all," Edward said a few minutes later after we'd calmed down and caught our breath.

"I suppose so. It wouldn't be good to get on the chief's bad side especially now that you're dating his daughter," I teased, and Edward's face paled a bit.

"Your dad owns a lot of guns, doesn't he?" he asked, and I let out a giggle at the look on his face.

"He does, but I wouldn't let him shoot you. I promise," I said with a grin.

As we walked back to Edward's car, we held hands the whole way, and I was on cloud nine.

The whole drive back to my house was spent talking quietly, and I told him more than a few times what a great time I'd had, and he told me the same.

When we finally pulled into my driveway, Edward got out and opened my door before walking me up to my front door. Once there, I saw the curtain move for a second, and I really hoped my dad wasn't standing behind it watching us.

"Goodnight, sweet girl," Edward said, leaning down and giving me a quick kiss on the lips. "I'll talk to you tomorrow."

I said goodnight to him and floated into the house, a silly grin on my face.

"I take it your date went well," Dad commented, and I nodded as I sat down on the couch after removing my coat and gloves.

"It was fantastic. Edward was a perfect gentleman, and he …. uh …. he asked me to be his girlfriend," I told Dad.

"Well, I'm glad that you had a good time, and I can tell you're over the moon about him. All I'm going to say is that he'd better treat your right, or else."

I rolled my eyes at his tone.

"I don't think you have to worry about that. Like I said, Edward is a gentleman."

A little after ten, I crawled into bed, grinning when I found several texts from Edward, Alice, and Angela. Edward was just saying goodnight one last time, but Angela and Alice wanted to know how the date went. Although, why Alice couldn't just ask Edward was beyond me.

I texted both the girls back, telling them my date had gone wonderfully, and I told Angela I'd tell her more about it tomorrow.

After sending my texts, I fell asleep, dreaming of Edward.

* * *

a/n: Let me know what you thought!


	11. Chapter 11

**A/N: Thanks so much for reading and/or reviewing. It totally makes my day! Also a huge thanks to my beta, Heather, for her her ideas and corrections. My stories would be a hot mess without her.**

* * *

"Tell me everything!" Angela demanded the second I'd climbed out of the Jeep, and I had to let out laugh at her persistence.

So, I told her everything. I told her all about our dinner and about our walk in the park where Edward had kissed me and asked me to be his girlfriend.

She let out a squeal, much like Alice did when she was excited, before throwing her arms around me in a hug. I laughed as I hugged her back, and that was how Ben and Eric found us.

"What's this all about?" Ben asked as Angela, and I parted.

"Edward asked Bella to be his girlfriend," she said rather loudly and then I saw why.

Jessica, Mike, and Lauren were walking nearby, and they clearly heard what Angela had said because I saw Jessica and Lauren shoot each other looks of disbelief while a dark look crossed over Mike's face.

"Thanks, Ang. Let's give them even more reason to hate me."

Angela shrugged a shoulder.

"Don't worry about them. All that matters is that you're happy and with someone who cares about you a lot."

Angela was right, and that helped me get through the day as Jessica, Lauren, and their friends circulated all kinds of rumors about me.

They weren't super nasty rumors, but I had no doubt the girls would lead up to that at some point. Mainly the thing being said about me was that I was a liar because there was no way Edward Cullen would ever date a girl like me. I wasn't so sure what they meant by that because if there was one thing about which I was positive, it was that Edward would never date girls like them.

Well, that wasn't true. From what I'd heard about Tanya, she was a bit shallow, like Jessica and Lauren, and now she wanted Edward back. I hoped she knew he was off limits, and it was at that moment I wished I went to the same school as him. At least then, I'd be able to mark my claim in front of her.

"You okay?" Eric asked as we stood in line to get food in the cafeteria.

"Huh? Yeah, I'm fine. Just thinking that's all," I told him.

"Okay. Don't let the lies that those two idiots are spreading get to you."

"I won't."

"Good, because,apparently, you and I are secretly dating, but I'm too ashamed of you to let the world know that we're together," he said.

I stared at him before cracking up.

"I'm not laughing at you," I told him once I'd calmed down, "and if you were my type, I'd probably date you, but wow. Ashamed of me, huh?"

Eric let out a snicker, and I was glad to know that I hadn't offended him because I'd been worried for a minute.

"Don't worry, Bells," he said in a quiet voice as we made our way over to our table. "You're not my type at all either. You don't have the right equipment."

My eyes widened at his words, and I stared at him for a moment, not saying anything. Not that I had a problem or cared that Eric was gay. It was just a bit unexpected, and I chided myself for thinking how Eric didn't fit the stereotype of a gay guy.

"I'm out, but I don't widely advertise it," he told me.

"No worries. I won't tell anyone," I promised, and I meant it. Besides, it was no one's business but Eric's.

"It's not a huge deal, but I could only imagine what Jessica and Lauren would do with that information."

I shuddered at the thought. Knowing those two, they would do what they could to make Eric's life miserable.

"So now I want to hear about your date with the ever so gorgeous Edward Cullen," he said as we sat down, and I let out a small laugh. He sounded just like Angela.

Halfway through lunch, my phone beeped, and I saw that I had a text from Edward.

_The interrogations have been relentless. How's your day going?_

_Lol. Pretty good. Not so much interrogations as people wanting details,_ I texted back.

_Lucky you. Alice, Emmett, and a few other friends have demanded to know every detail of our date. _

_What about Tanya?_ I asked him. _Does she know you're taken?_

_She does now,_ he texted back. _She didn't seem too thrilled by the news, but I couldn't care less._

"Is that Edward?" Angela asked, but it was Eric that answered her.

"Of course it is. Look at her face."

I stuck my tongue at them and then went back to texting Edward throughout lunch.

* * *

"You're coming over for the weekend, right?" Alice asked me later in the week, and I told her yes.

She'd invited me to spend the entire weekend at their house, and I'd eagerly agreed. Not just because I would get to spend time with Edward but because I wanted to spend time with Alice as well. I felt like we hadn't hung out in forever, and we really hadn't.

"I'll drive there straight after school. Dad said it was fine."

"Yay! I have so much planned for us to do. It's going to be so much fun, and yes, I'll even let you and Edward have some alone time," she said, and I let out a small laugh.

"Thanks, Alice," I told her before we hung up.

Two days later, I was in my car and on my way to the Cullen's house in Port Angeles, and when the snow began to fall, I said a small prayer. I didn't mind snow or at least I didn't think I did, but I'd never spent much time in it, and I'd never driven in it.

Clutching the steering wheel tightly, I slowed down and was grateful that I was the only one on the road. That meant I could go as slow as needed to without pissing off any drivers behind me.

As soon as I found the turn off to the Cullen's driveway, I let out a long, slow breath and sighed with relief as their house came into view.

Edward must have been waiting for me because as soon as I parked the jeep, he was there, opening my door.

"Are you okay?" he asked, brushing a lock of hair off my face, and I nodded as I tried to hide my trembling hands. I was being stupid. I was going to have to learn to drive in the snow eventually.

"I'm fine. Just not used to the snow," I said with a small smile.

He pulled me to him, and I buried my face in the crook of his neck as I wrapped my arms around his waist.

"Let's get you inside before you freeze to death. Besides, Alice can't wait to see you."

He wasn't kidding. The second I walked in the door, Alice tossed herself at me, all while talking a million miles an hour.

I barely had time to wave to Esme before Alice dragged me up to her room where she told me that we were going to manicures while watching rom coms. I held back the face I wanted to make because getting my nails painted wasn't really my thing.

"Sit," she demanded pointing to her bed, and I did.

As she filed, shaped, and painted my nails, she chattered on about Jasper, school, and then she brought up Tanya.

"Oh man, was she pissed to learn about you," she said, a gleeful tone in her voice.

"Oh," I commented as if I didn't have a care in the world, but I wasn't fooling Alice.

"I know Edward has told you how Tanya wanted him back since she broke up with James, right? Well, I made sure to have to Jasper ask him about his date with you in front of her so she'd get the hint that Edward had moved on. Boy, was she jealous."

"Yeah?" I asked, sort of thrilled that Tanya was jealous of me.

Alice nodded her head as she finished putting a coat of pink polish on my nails.

"But, she's a nasty bitch, so I wouldn't put it past her to try and get Edward back somehow. But don't worry. He has you. The two of you are perfect for each other."

I certainly hoped she was right about Edward and me.

An hour later, Edward poked his head in the room and asked if we wanted to order a pizza for dinner. Alice and I both nodded and followed Edward downstairs and into their giant kitchen where he pulled out several pizza takeout menus.

Alice snatched one up as she informed me that Marco's had the best pizza in the world, and I told her we'd see about that.

We decided to order five large pizzas mainly because Emmett would be home soon, and he was bringing his girlfriend, Rose, with, and I'd seen the way Edward could put away food. We ordered a pepperoni, a sausage and onion, and a supreme pizza.

"What are we going to watch?" Edward asked after he'd placed our orders. "And none of that romantic stuff. I want an action or a horror movie."

Alice made a face at him, but I gave him a thumbs up. I was in agreement with him.

"How about _Pirates of the Caribbean_?" she suggested, and I shook my head no. I wasn't in the mood to watch that.

The three of us spent a good five minutes, arguing over what to watch before we finally decided on _Die Hard_. It was a great action flick, and I had a massive crush on Bruce Willis.

"Hey, guys!" Emmett boomed a few minutes later, proceeding to scare the crap out of me.

There was a tall, gorgeous blonde woman beside him, and I noticed the cool look she gave me. I'd heard all about Rose from Alice, and I'd been told that she was really into cars and fixing them up, but that didn't jive with the woman standing in front of me.

"Rosie, this is Edward's girl, Bella. Bells, this is my girlfriend, Rose."

I held a hand which she shook and told her it was nice to meet her. She replied, saying the same, but there was a cool tone to her voice, and I wondered if I'd offended her somehow.

I shot Edward a look, asking what I'd done wrong, and he shook his head and shrugged his shoulders.

Just then the doorbell rang, and Emmett ran to answer it with Rose right behind him. I turned to Alice and asked her if Rose was always like that or if it was me. She frowned and told me she wasn't sure what the girl's problem with me was.

There was a definite tension in the air as the five of us ate our dinner and watched the movie, and I hated that I seemed to be the cause of it.

Halfway through the movie, Rose got up to refill her drink, and I decided to confront her and find out what her problem with me was.

I grabbed my own glass, told Edward I'd be right back, and made my way into the kitchen where Rose was pouring a glass of Diet Coke.

"Can I ask you something?" I asked her, and she barely spared me a glance as she shrugged one shoulder.

"Did I do something to offend you? I mean, I've heard nothing but nice things about you, and I'd been looking forward to meeting you, but frankly, you seem sort of like a bitch. From the moment you walked in, you've done nothing but shoot me dirty looks and refuse to talk to me. So, what's going on?"

She set the two liter down and turned to face me.

"I've heard things about you," she commented, and I could only stare at her.

"I've been in Forks for less than a month. What in the world could you have possibly heard about me?"

"Stuff," she replied, and that answer wasn't flying with me.

"Stuff? Like what? That I'm a liar, and I'm really dating Eric Yorkie?" I asked her because that was the only thing I could think of.

"How about the fact that you were sent to live with your dad because of your drug problem?" she snapped, and I gaped at her. "Yeah. I know all about that, and I know you're not good enough for Edward."

"Oh, good, God. Really? Who is saying that?" I demanded to know. "I've never done drugs in my life, and I moved out here, voluntarily I might add, to give my mom time with her soon to be new husband."

I was seething that someone was spreading that kind of a lie about me, and I was going to put a stop to it.

"You know, before you go believing the bullshit that someone feeds you, perhaps you should get to know that person first," I snarled before stomping back into the living room.

I was so fucking angry, and the Cullen siblings noticed right off the bat.

"What's wrong?" Edward asked me, taking one of my tightly clenched fists in his hand and rubbing his thumb across my knuckles.

"Besides the fact that I'm a drug addict who was sent to live with my dad to keep me out of trouble? Nothing. Nothing is wrong at all. Everything's just freaking peachy."

"What?" Edward asked, a look of confusion on his face. "Where in the world did you hear that?"

"From Emmett's girlfriend, who by the way, is _not _the nicest person I've ever met," I said, arms crossed over my chest.

"Why would Rosie say that?" Emmett asked, and I shot him a glare.

"I don't know. Why don't you go ask her? Apparently, she knows all about me."

I knew it was stupid to get so upset over a rumor, but the fact that I'd heard it from a stranger who didn't even live in the same town as me had me really upset. That kind of rumor could be damaging to my reputation, and I certainly didn't want people thinking I was a drug user.

"C'mere," Edward said, standing up and pulling me up with him.

He kept his hand in mine as we walked upstairs toward his room, and I knew he was giving me a chance to cool down away from the others.

I was blinking back tears by the time we made it to his room, and I brushed away a stray tear that had managed to fall.

"I don't know where Rose heard that or why she chose to believe it, but you and I both know that isn't true," he said quietly as he sat down on his bed and patted the spot next to him.

I sat down next to him, and he wrapped an arm around my shoulder, tucking me into him. I laid my head on his shoulders and let out a sniffle.

"Who would say such a thing about me? More importantly, why?" I asked him. "Who did I piss off so badly that they'd spread rumors like this about me?"

Of course, I was fairly certain that it had to be either Jessica or Lauren, but I wanted an answer.

* * *

**a/n: As always, let me know what you thought! I love hearing from you all.**


	12. Chapter 12

**A/N: Thank you all so much for reading and/or reviewing. It makes me happy to see you all enjoying the story. Also a huge thanks to Heather for making sure that the commas I so despise are added and in the correct place.**

* * *

"I think I might know the answer to that," Emmett said in a quiet voice from the doorway.

I looked over at him and noticed a frown marring his normally happy face.

He walked and sat down on the other side of me before apologizing for Rose's behavior, and I shook my head as I told him not to. Rose was responsible for her actions, and she was allowed to think what she wanted.

"Rose heard it from Lauren," he told me.

"They're friends?" I asked, thinking that would certainly explain Rose's attitude toward me.

"Cousins, actually. Normally, Rosie can't stand her, but when Lauren heard you and Edward were dating, she went to Rose with all this drug addict nonsense."

"And she believed her?" Edward asked in an incredulous voice.

"I don't know Bella from Adam, so yes, I believed my cousin. I didn't see why she'd lie about that," Rose said from the doorway.

"Um, how about the fact that she's been wanting Edward since, like, fifth grade?" Alice said from behind her, a scowl on her face. "Even you had to have seen the pathetic attempts over the years."

"Honestly, that thought never even crossed my mind. Lauren and I have been getting along lately, and I was the one who asked her what she knew about Bella. I was just trying to look out for Edward," Rose said in a defensive voice.

I could see Alice getting more upset which was causing Emmett to get upset, and I just wanted to put all of it behind me.

"Just forget about it, okay? I'm not a drug addict, and it's fairly clear to everyone is this room that Lauren has a problem with me and is willing to say whatever she can about me," I told them.

"Look," Rose said. "I'm sorry. I've had a bad experience with someone dating a drug addict, and it put me on the defensive."

"Whatever," I said with a wave of my hand. "Let's just move on and forget about it."

Rose and Alice both nodded their heads, and they, along with Emmett, left the room, leaving Edward and I alone once more.

"I can't believe Lauren would do that," Edward hissed, and I let out a sigh.

"I can. Nothing about that girl would surprise me," I told him, reaching out and squeezing his hand before planting a kiss on his cheek.

"Let's go downstairs and relax," I suggested, wanting to put the ugliness of the night behind us for the moment.

I'd come over to have a good time, and I wasn't going to let Lauren Mallory and her lies ruin my fun anymore than it already had.

"Are you sure you're going to be okay?" Edward asked, getting up from the bed, and I nodded. I was going to be fine especially once I gave Lauren a piece of my mind.

"Okay, sweet girl. Let's go enjoy the night," he said, leaning down and placing a long slow kiss on my lips before pulling away.

Unable to let him go just yet, I reached out and hooked my hands around his neck and pulled him back for another kiss. I pressed my lips to his, moaning when his tongue lightly stroked mine. I could so easily get lost in his kisses, and apparently I did because we were interrupted by a smirking Alice.

"Sorry to interrupt, but Emmett wants to know what movie we're watching next."

Edward rolled his eyes and told her we'd be down in a minute which caused Alice to roll her eyes at us.

"Sure you will. I'll just tell Emmett to put in something. It's not like you two will even watch it. You'll be too busy making out," she teased before making her way down the stairs.

"We should probably go before Emmett comes up and starts teasing us," Edward said, and I nodded my head in agreement.

We made our way downstairs and were soon immersed in the awesomeness that was Simon Pegg. The man was hilarious, and as I cuddled with Edward on the couch, I felt my bad mood slipping away.

A little after ten, I excused myself to use the bathroom, and when I came back out, Rose was standing there.

"I wanted to apologize once more," she said with an embarrassed look on her face. "I never should have listened to Lauren, but my older brother dated a druggie and became one himself. He died three years ago, and I just couldn't let Emmett go through that."

"I understand, Rose. I do, but rest assured, I'm not a drug addict. I've seen what it can do to people as well, and I don't want any part of that. I'd never do anything to hurt Edward, Emmett, or Alice."

She nodded her head before apologizing once more, and I told her it was done and over with, but that I would be having a talk with Lauren.

"Don't be fooled by her dumb blonde act," Rose warned me. "She's a master manipulator, and she tends to get what she wants. Well, with the exception of Edward. He wouldn't touch her with a ten foot pole."

"I can handle her," I told Rose as we made our way back into the living room.

I saw both Edward and Emmett cast us worried looks, and I mouthed that everything was fine. While I was still a little upset with Rose, I could understand where she was coming from, and I couldn't fault her too much for wanting to look out for her friends.

We stayed up until after two, and after I'd said goodnight to everyone, I changed into my pajamas in the guest bathroom and then crawled into a bed made of Heaven. I'd never slept in such a comfortable bed, and I knew that I'd probably get the best sleep of my life.

I had just settled in when there was a knock on my door, and Edward poked his head in when I told him to come in.

"Do you have everything you need?" he asked as he came further into the room, and I nodded.

"Oh, yeah. Do you think I can take this bed home with me?" I asked him as I stretched out.

He let out a laugh.

"I don't think it will fit in your jeep," he commented as he brushed a lock of hair away from my face.

"Sadly, I think you're right," I said with a sad sigh.

He let out a small chuckle as he leaned down and placed a kiss on my lips, whispering good night.

I was reluctant to let him go, but I knew we'd both be in trouble if his parents caught him alone in the guest room this late at night.

"Go," I said, pushing him lightly.

"I'm going. Feel free to sleep in. Alice doesn't get up before ten on the weekends," he told me as he got up from the bed and made his way toward the door.

I fell asleep right away, and when I woke up, I was surprised to see that it was a little before ten. I'd had the best sleep of my life, and I was extremely reluctant to leave the comforts of that bed, but my bladder wasn't going to let me stay.

I made my way into the bathroom, and after using it and washing my hands, I decided to take a quick shower. The bathroom was fully stocked with towels, soaps, and shampoos, so I didn't have to worry about bothering Alice.

After my shower, I got dressed in jeans, socks, and a dark blue thermal shirt before braiding my wet hair and making my way down stairs.

I was a bit nervous as I slowly made my way into the kitchen, and I hoped that Edward was already down there. Thankfully, he was along with a sleepy looking Emmett.

"Morning, Bella," Edward said, planting a kiss on my cheek, and I gave him a smile in return.

"Did you sleep okay, Bella?" Esme asked, and I'd been so focused on Edward that I hadn't even realized she was in the room.

"I did, thank you," I told her as I took a seat at the kitchen counter next to Edward.

There were several plates and bowls full of food spread out over the counter, and it looked as though Esme had cooked enough for an army. Granted, I'd seen the way the boys ate, so I imagined that Esme would constantly have to cook a ton.

"Help yourself to whatever you want," Esme said, handing me a plate which I took as I tried to decide what I wanted to eat.

A few minutes later, I had a plate full of eggs, corned beef hash, toast, bacon, and a smaller plate with a waffle. I was starving, and I dared either of the boys to judge me.

"No way you can eat all that," Emmett said as he stared at my plate.

"Maybe not, but I'm gonna try," I told him, and Edward grinned before telling me how glad he was to be with a girl who wasn't afraid to eat.

Just as I was finishing my plate of food, Alice walked in, wearing hot pink pajamas, and her dark hair was a crazy, insane mess.

"Good morning, Alice," I said, and she shot me a dark look as she shuffled her way over to the coffee maker.

I watched in part horror, part fascination as she poured a large mug of coffee into which she put no less than six tablespoons of sugar.

"Why not just drink the sugar," I commented quietly to Edward, and he let out a snort.

Once Alice had drunk two cups of sugar-laced coffee, she began to become the girl I was used to, and soon, she was rattling off the plans she had for us that day.

"There's ice skating at the park, and I thought we could go this morning and then grab lunch out. What do you think?" she asked.

"Desert girl here. I've never been ice skating," I told them.

"I'll teach you," Edward said. "And, I promise, I won't let you fall."

I trusted Edward, and if he said he wouldn't let me fall, then I knew he wouldn't. However, I also knew that me sliding around on ice on a thin blade just might be dangerous.

An hour later, we were ready to go, and I was surprised that Emmett wasn't coming with us, but he told me that he and Rose were getting together. That was said with wiggling eyebrows, and I shuddered at the thought of what they would get up to.

"Jazz is going to meet us there," Alice said as we climbed into Edward's Volvo, and I was excited to see him again. Jasper seemed absolutely perfect for Alice, and I knew just how serious they were about each other. Heck, Alice already had their wedding planned out.

"I don't think I can do this," I mumbled twenty minutes later as Edward knelt in front of me and tied the laces of my skates.

"Of course you can, sweet girl, just take my hands and hold on," he said, standing up once he was done lacing up the skates.

I gripped his hands tightly as I stood up on wobbly legs, and we slowly made our way onto the ice.

The second my skates touched the ice, I felt myself slipping, but true to his word, Edward caught me and wrapped his arms around my waist while I clutched his forearms with my hands.

"You need to relax, sweet girl," he said quietly, and I nodded that I'd heard him, but there was no way I could relax. I was too freaking scared of falling.

Slowly, Edward unwound his arms from my waist, and he took my trembling hands in his as he began to skate backwards, and I glided along with him.

"Move your feet like you would if you were on roller skates," he suggested, and I tried to do what he'd said.

"I haven't been roller skating since I was eight, and I managed to break my arm doing that," I told him.

"What did I tell you?"

"That you wouldn't let me fall," I mumbled, and he nodded.

We spent a good forty-five minutes on the ice before I was ready to call it quits. Edward had been true to his word, and I hadn't fallen once, and I'd even managed to skate on my own for a while, but I didn't think ice skating wasn't for me.

"I think I'm done," I told him after we'd circled the ice once more.

"Okay. Want some hot chocolate?" he asked as we made our way back to the edge of the rink, and I nodded.

While Edward got us our drinks, I sat down at the picnic table we'd commandeered as ours and began to unlace my skates when I heard Jessica's annoying voice.

"Hello, Bella," she said in a cool tone, and I nodded a hello to her. She really wasn't worth wasting my breath on, and I noticed that Mike was trailing along behind her.

"Kind of pathetic, isn't it?" she asked, and I just looked at her.

"Being here by yourself," she said, and I rolled my eyes as I informed her I wasn't alone.

Just then Edward came back with two cups of hot chocolate, and I watched her eyes widen as he sat down next to me and placed a quick kiss on my lips.

"Thanks, babe," I said, blowing on the cup to cool my drink off.

"Oh, hey, Jessica. Mike," Edward said as if he'd just seen them, and they mumbled quiet hellos before Jessica walked away, pulling out her phone.

"Bet she's texting Lauren," I said.

Edward shrugged. "I don't care if she tells the whole world we're dating. Maybe then, the girls will leave me alone."

I let out a giggle at his words before teasing him and calling him conceited.

"Oh, yes, Mr. Cullen. All the girls want you. Girls all over the world are pining after you. You, sir, are a heartbreaker."

"Don't pick on me," he said with a pout on his lips, and I couldn't help but lean over and press a kiss to them.

"Knock it off, you two. We're in public," Jasper teased as he and Alice came up to us, their hands clasped together.

"You're one to talk," Edward retorted which had Alice letting out a giggle. From what Edward had told me, Jasper and Alice had a tendency to get carried away with the PDA.

I wasn't a huge fan of PDA myself, but Edward was too cute to resist, and I knew I wouldn't be able to help kissing or casually touching him in public.

"Ready to eat?" Alice asked just as my stomach let out a loud rumble, and I nodded my head as Edward let out a laugh.

"I guess that's a yes," he said with a wink.

* * *

**a/n: As always, let me know what you thought. I'll see you all next Saturday.**


	13. Chapter 13

**A/N: Sorry this is coming to you a tad bit later than normal. RL gets in the way of things sometimes. A huge thanks to my beta, Heather, for reading and fixing my chapters, and a huge thanks to all of you for reading and/or reviewing.**

* * *

Later that evening, we were all hanging out in the Cullen's living room, playing a game of _Cards Against Humanity,_ when the doorbell rang. Carlisle and Esme had gone out to dinner and wouldn't be back until later, so Emmett got up to answer the door.

"Oh, hey, Tanya," he said, loud enough for all of us to hear, and my eyes widened. I couldn't help but wonder what she wanted.

"Hey, Emmett. Is Edward here?" she asked before telling Emmett that she knew he was since Edward's Volvo was in the driveway.

"We're busy at the moment. Why don't you come back later?" Emmett suggested, his voice taking on a slightly cool tone.

"Because I'm here now, and I want to see him," she said, and seconds later, I heard what sounded like heels clicking across the floor.

A tall strawberry-blonde came stalking into the room with an arrogant look on her face, stopping short when saw Edward and me. The two of us were snuggled up close together on the floor in front of the coffee table, and I wasn't about to move. Neither was Edward.

The hand that had been resting on my thigh continued to do so, and I saw her eyes drawn toward the slight movement of his hand.

"I need to speak to you," she demanded, ignoring not only me but Alice, Jasper, and Rose.

"So talk," Edward said with an air of indifference that had her eyes hardening.

"Alone," she said through gritted teeth.

"Tanya," Edward began with a sigh, "whatever you have to say to me, you can say in front of everyone, or not at all. Your choice."

I guess she decided if she couldn't talk to him alone, then she wouldn't say anything because she stomped out of the room, but not before shooting both Edward and me dirty looks. I rolled my eyes at her behavior.

"God, what a cow!" Rose snarled after the front door had slammed shut.

"What in the world did you ever see in her?" she then asked, and Edward shook his head as he shrugged.

"I honestly have no idea. Maybe it's because we've known each other forever. I don't know. She didn't use to be such a shallow and mean person. She used to be really nice," he said, and Alice nodded her head in confirmation.

"We were best friends until junior high. After we started seventh grade, she became someone else," Alice told me.

"Well, I want to know what she wanted," I said because I was extremely curious as to what was so important that she just had to talk to Edward alone.

"She probably came to beg Edward to take her back," Emmett said as he sat back down on the floor. "I figured that's why she didn't want to say anything in front of everyone, but we all know Eddie's not going back to her."

"Damn, right I'm not," Edward said, leaning over to kiss my lips.

* * *

"I'm sorry, she did what?" I asked Edward Monday afternoon as I lay on the couch flipping through channels on the TV.

I'd finished my homework an hour earlier, and Dad wasn't going to be home until seven, so I'd been channel surfing until Edward had called.

"She cornered me outside of the gym and tried to kiss me," he told me over the phone in a disgruntled voice, and a wave of jealousy washed over me. "I pushed her away."

"What in the world is that girl's problem?" I asked him. "I mean, she broke up with you, but now that you've moved on, she wants you back. So not gonna happen."

"That's exactly what I told her," he said. "She swears I'll get bored with you and come crawling back to her, but that will never happen."

"Good to know because I'm not letting you go anytime soon."

We talked for a few hours before my dad came home, and I hung up with Edward so I could eat dinner with Dad.

Over dinner, I told him about Tanya's attempt to go after Edward, and Dad just shook his head.

"That boy better watch out, and you as well. This Tanya girl sounds a bit unstable."

"I think she just wants what she can't have," I told him, and he nodded his head in agreement.

After dinner, I made my way up to my room and logged into my laptop where I found an email from my mom. We tried to keep in touch, but we were both so busy with our new lives that we didn't communicate as often as we should have.

She and Phil were going to get married at the beginning of March, and her wedding was going to coincide perfectly with my spring break. Mom had asked me to be her maid of honor, and I'd obviously agreed, and according to her email, she was on the prowl for the perfect dress.

I emailed her back, telling her to send me pictures of the dresses she was looking at, and I'd give her my advice. Heck, Alice and Angela would probably give her their advice as well because they were super excited about my mom's wedding even though they'd never met her in person. The girls had met her over Skype right after I'd moved in with Dad, and Mom had loved them right away.

I sent my email to Mom before scrolling through the rest of my inbox and noticed that I had an email from my friend, Bree. I was excited to open it and see what she had to say because I'd only heard from my friends in Jacksonville a couple of times.

The email from Bree was short and curt, and I frowned as I read it. She told me she was doing fine and about about school, but that was it. She didn't ask how I was or anything, and I debated on whether or not to reply.

Eventually, I did, and my email was as short as hers was, and once I was done writing, I sent it and then opened up my Facebook page.

I noticed I had a friend request, and I clicked on the icon and saw that Mike Newton wanted to be my friend. I denied the request before scrolling through my wall and looking at what people had posted.

"Hey, Bells?" Dad called.

"Yeah?" I asked, setting my laptop aside and going into the hallway to stand at the top of the stairs.

Dad was at the bottom and his face was bright red and he was fiddling with his mustache, a telltale sign that he was nervous.

"I'm going over to Sue's for a bit. I … um … I probably won't see you until tomorrow," he said, and I couldn't help but snicker at him.

"Have a good night. I'll see you tomorrow," I told him, trying not to think what he was going to be doing at Sue's house. Although, Seth was there, so hopefully _that_ wouldn't be going on while that poor kid was there.

I made sure to lock the door and turn all the lights off except for the one in the hallway before going back upstairs.

As I tried to fall asleep, I found myself listening to every noise the house made, and I was beginning to freak myself out.

Giving up on sleep, I sent Edward a text and then felt immediately bad that I was probably waking him up.

A minute later, my phone rang, scaring the crap out of me, and I dropped it on the floor before I could answer it.

"I'm sorry, Edward," I blurted out as soon as I answered.

"It's fine, sweet girl. What's going on? Are you okay?"

"I'm fine. I'm just being silly," I told him as I went on to explain that the creaking of the house and the blowing of the wind was keeping me awake.

We talked for a few more minutes until I found myself relaxing enough to start falling asleep, and I whispered a goodnight to him before hanging up.

The next day, I was the object of more than a few stares and whispers, and I knew, without a doubt, that Lauren had begun to spread her lie about me that she'd told Rose. She hadn't been in school on Monday, but she sure was making up for it, and I wasn't going to deal with it.

I wanted to confront her, but I wasn't sure I'd be able to control my temper, so I chose a different route.

On my lunch break, I stopped by the main office and asked to speak to the principal. Thankfully, Mr. Greene was in and agreed to see me.

As I sat across from him, I explained that Lauren was spreading some rather disconcerting rumors about me, claiming that I was a drug addict. A frown marred his face as I spoke, and when I was done, he told me he'd be having a talk with her.

"Thank you, Mr. Greene," I said.

"You're welcome, and thank you for coming to me about this and not trying to take matters into your own hands," he said, and I didn't mention that I'd thought about doing just that.

I left the office, feeling that I'd done the right thing, and hurried down the hall to the cafeteria.

"Where have you been?" Angela asked after I'd grabbed an apple and a lemonade and sat down at our table.

"I went to talk to Mr. Greene about Lauren," I told them.

"No way," Eric said. "You went to Greene? Lauren is gonna be pissed!"

I shrugged.

"Well then she shouldn't spread lies about people."

By the end of school, there was a new rumor floating around that Lauren had been given a two day suspension, and everyone knew I was the reason for it. Personally, I felt that suspending her was just giving her a free vacation. As far as I was concerned, they should have made her do in-school suspension so she'd at least have to suffer a little.

"I cannot believe you!" Jessica hissed from behind me as I was unlocking my car in the parking lot. I'd been expecting her to come after me since Lauren had been pulled into the principal's office, so I wasn't at all surprised to hear her.

I didn't even bother to respond because I honestly didn't have anything to say to her, but she, apparently, had a lot to say to me.

She began ranting on and on about what a horrible person I was, about how I was bitch, and about how she'd get me for what I'd done to Lauren.

"Are you threatening me?" I asked her, finally turning around to look at her. "Because that would be an incredibly stupid thing for you to do. You really don't want to threaten a cop's daughter. Got me?"

Her eyes narrowed, and I half expected her to slug me where I stood, but Mike, who'd come up a few minutes earlier, put a hand on her shoulder and tugged her away from me.

"Let it go, Jess," he hissed at her, and I gave her a smirk.

"That's the first smart thing Mike's said since we've met. I'd listen to him," I told her before climbing into the jeep and pulling out of the parking lot.

The minute I parked in my driveway, I called my dad and let him know about the whole Jessica/Lauren situation and the vague threats that Jessica had given me.

"Those girls are trouble," he said with a low growl after I'd spoken. "I've been warned about them as well as Mike Newton and some guy in Port Angeles named James Victoria."

"Seriously? You were warned about Jessica and Lauren? But, they're not much more than gossip queens and mean girls," I commented.

"They've both had run-ins with the last chief as well as that Newton boy. As for James, the guy is bad news."

We talked for a few minutes before I asked him what he wanted for dinner, and Dad gave me his typical response of _whatever_. I told him to pick up some salad fixings on his way home before saying goodbye.

I got out of the car and entered the house when I saw a bright red car drive by with a blonde behind the steering wheel. For a second, I thought it was Tanya, but that would be ridiculous. I mean, really, why would she drive all the way to Forks to just drive by my house? I was being paranoid, so with a shake of my head, I made my way inside the house and locked the door behind me.

Of course, the second I was in the door, I rushed up to my room, turned my laptop on, and opened up Facebook. Immediately, I typed in Tanya's name and scanned through her Facebook pictures, trying to see if she owned a red car. I didn't find any pictures of her with a car, and I realized I was being ridiculous. It was just somebody driving down my road, and my paranoid brain had decided it was Tanya and that the car had slowed down when they'd driven past.

* * *

"I swear to God, she's following me," I told Angela on Friday as we worked on a lab project in class because I'd seen that same car yet again.

"Do you think it's really her?" she asked in a whisper, and I nodded.

"I'm pretty sure it is. I know it's not Lauren, all she does is shoot me death glares all day, plus she drives an older car. I'm almost positive it's Tanya."

Angela frowned before asking me if I'd mentioned it to Edward, and I told her no.

"Why not?"

I shrugged. "Because I don't want to worry him over something that might not be anything. I don't know for sure that it's Tanya."

"But you're pretty sure it is. At least let your dad know so that he can run the plates and found out who it is."

I hadn't thought about that, and I hadn't mentioned the drive-bys to my dad either.

"I will," I promised her, and I did just that later that evening.

Over dinner with my dad and Sue, I told him about the red car that I'd seen driving by the house more than a few times. He'd been furious I hadn't said anything, and he'd blown up at me.

By the time he was done yelling at me, I was blinking back tears and apologizing profusely.

"Sit down, Charlie," Sue said in a stern voice, and Dad sat back down in his seat, his face a dull red.

"Yelling at Bella isn't going to fix this situation. She made a mistake in not telling you, and it's obvious that she feels bad about that," Sue told Dad, and he flushed a bit. "Now, we're going to figure out what to do about this situation."

* * *

**a/n: Oh yeah, the drama is a happening. Lol. I love drama. Well, not in RL and especially not at my job which has far more drama than an web company should. Anyway, leave me some love.**


	14. Chapter 14

**A/N: Sorry that this is later than normal. I've been without Internet all day, and it's been driving me nuts. Huge thanks to my awesome beta, Heather, for her mad beta'ing skills, and thanks to everyone reading and reviewing.**

* * *

All I had to say was thank God for Sue. She'd been able to calm my dad down after I'd told him about the car driving by, and she'd suggested that he install a security camera in order to capture the vehicle after he'd told us that he'd just sit in a lawn chair in the yard and wait for the person to drive by.

I had a feeling that he'd go with his option first, and if that didn't work, then he'd go the security camera route.

After I'd been sent to my room like a little kid being punished, I flopped down on my bed, face first, before giving Edward a call.

"Hey, sweet girl. We still on for the weekend?" he asked, and I had to tell him no.

"I've managed to get myself grounded. I'm not allowed to go out at all this weekend," I told him, sort of dreading having to tell him why.

"What happened?" he asked, his voice full of concern.

I took a deep breath as I rolled over onto my back and stared at my ceiling.

"All this week, I've seen a red car driving slowly by my house, and I didn't tell Dad about it. He freaked when I told him over dinner tonight, and he's absolutely livid that I didn't say anything."

"Bella!" Edward exclaimed. "You should have told him right away. I can see why he's upset with you."

I hung my head in shame even though he couldn't see me.

"I think it's Tanya," I found myself blurting out.

"What?" he asked, and I repeated what I said. I told him that it was a newer model red car and that I'd sworn she was behind the wheel.

"Are you sure?" he asked me, and I told him I thought so.

"I just don't understand why she'd do that," Edward said quietly.

"I don't know. Maybe she's trying to scare me or to check up on her competition," I suggested, and Edward replied with a maybe.

By the time we hung up ten minutes later, I felt almost worse than I had because Edward was upset with me, too, although he tried to act like he wasn't.

_I fucked up_, I texted Alice, and she responded immediately.

_What happened?_

I told her everything, including the fact that I didn't blame Edward for being upset with me. I'd been stupid.

_It'll be okay,_ she texted back. _Just give him a little bit of time to cool down. He's probably more upset about the situation than with you._

_Do you think Tanya would do that? Drive by my house?_

_I do. I think she's so desperate to get Edward back that she's not thinking rational_, she responded.

I really hoped that driving by was all that Tanya planned on doing, and I hoped like hell that she stopped once my Dad had a talk with her. Unfortunately, there was nothing illegal about driving by someone's house, but I sure hoped Dad would put the fear of God into her if she was the one behind it.

* * *

"I'm so freaking bored," I whined out loud as I lounged on the couch. Dad had gone to the reservation to watch some sports game with his friend, Billy, as well as Seth, and I was stuck at home.

My car keys had been taken away until Monday, and I could only watch so much stuff on Netflix. I wasn't in the mood to read, and I'd already cleaned the house, so I was slowly starting to go out of my mind.

Ten minutes after I'd begun complaining to myself, the doorbell rang, and I rushed to answer it.

Edward was standing on my porch with a grocery bag and a small bouquet of flowers in his hand.

"Edward!"

He gave me a sheepish smile as he held out the flowers and apologized to me.

"What in the world are you apologizing for? I'm the one that should be apologizing," I told him as I took the flowers and let him in.

"I'm sorry I got upset with you," he said, "and I come bearing gifts. Redbox movies and Chinese food."

"Well then, you're totally forgiven. I was dying of boredom," I told him as we walked into the house.

Dad hadn't said I couldn't have anyone over, just that I couldn't go out, but I decided to double check with him to be on the safe side.

After I was given the okay, I dug out a vase for the flowers while Edward pulled out some plates from the cupboard for our food.

After we finished eating, we put our dishes away before curling up together on the couch. Actually, Edward was lying on his side with me in front, his arm draped over my waist, and I loved being so close to him. The position was incredibly intimate, but I wasn't complaining.

At some point during the movie, Edward's lips found my neck, and a shiver wracked my frame as his lips trailed up and down.

Eventually, I couldn't take it anymore, and I rolled onto my back so I could feel those wonderful lips against mine.

"You're so damn gorgeous," Edward mumbled as he brought his lips to mine, and I felt myself blushing, but I didn't really care at that moment.

My fingers delved into his wonderfully messy hair as his tongue traced over my lips, and I opened my mouth slightly to give him entry. Our tongues gently slid against one another's, and I let out a moan. Edward's taste was amazing, it was a mix of cinnamon and Edward's unique taste, and I couldn't resist nipping at his bottom lip which caused him to let loose with a low growl.

Immediately, I was hit with a wave of arousal that I'd never felt before, and I wiggled closer to him, tossing a leg over one of his.

The hand that had been on my waist now gripped my thigh, lightly squeezing now and then, and I found my passion at an all time high.

Our kisses were hot and fierce, and I let out a moan when I felt his erection press against me.

He mumbled an apology against my lips, but I hushed him. I didn't mind the feel of him even though he knew I wasn't ready to have sex with him, and he knew that.

We got lost in each other and lost track of time, and it wasn't until I heard a car pull into the driveway that we sprung apart.

"Oh, shit! My dad's home," I said, rushing to straighten my clothes and my hair.

Edward dashed off to the bathroom to calm himself down and fix his own hair, and I quickly put a new movie on and settled down on the couch, hoping like hell that my face wasn't bright red.

Edward came back out of the bathroom right as Dad opened the door. I noticed that Edward's face had a slight flush to it, and I prayed that Dad didn't notice.

"Hey, kids," he said as he hung up his coat and tossed his car keys into a ceramic bowl on a side table.

"Hey, Dad," I replied, Edward saying hello as well.

"Did you want to stay for dinner, Edward?" Dad asked as he made his way into the kitchen.

"Sure," Edward replied, shooting me a slightly nervous look. I think he was afraid that Dad was going to interrogate him over dinner, but I wasn't too worried. I think if Dad was going to say anything, he would have done so already. Dad wasn't one to pull punches.

"I was thinking of making tacos," Dad said, and Edward and I offered to help.

We had a nice dinner, and Dad didn't interrogate Edward at all, just asked general questions about school and whatnot.

"Did Bella tell you about the car she's seen?" Dad asked as we washed dishes, and Edward told him I had.

Dad then asked Edward if Tanya drove a red car, and he told us that she had a blue car but that her dad owned a red Mercedes. It was quite possible that Tanya was borrowing her dad's car to drive here, but I was really beginning to think I might have been mistaken.

"Maybe it's not her," I told them. "You get out of school at the same time I do, so there's no way she could get out of school at two-thirty and drive an hour to get here right as I'm pulling into the driveway."

"Tanya gets out early," Edward said. "I don't know why really, but she always leaves an hour earlier than I do."

Well that certainly changed everything. It definitely made it more possible that she was the culprit.

"Well, I'll be waiting for whomever it is tomorrow afternoon," Dad said, and I asked him if he was still planning to sit out there, cleaning his gun, and he let out a laugh and told me no.

We'd had a long talk the day before, and Dad had apologized for blowing up at me. We'd talked through a lot of things, and I hadn't objected when he'd grounded me. From now on, if I thought something was wrong or suspicious, I'd let Dad know right away. Living with him was definitely a far cry from living with my mom, and while we were both adjusting pretty well, there was obviously a learning curve.

* * *

Monday afternoon, I rushed home and grinned when I found my Dad standing outside on the porch, a determined look on his face.

"Where's your lawn chair?" I asked him, and he let out a laugh.

"I'm not going to use one. I'm going to stand right there at the end of the driveway and take pictures of the car," he said, pointing to a fancy looking camera sitting on the wicker table on the porch.

"Do you even know how to use that?" I asked him, giving the camera a dubious look. It looked extremely high tech, and my dad had a hard enough time figuring out how to use his cell phone.

"Yeah, Doug down at the station showed me how to use it before letting me borrow it," he said as he picked it up and began to walk toward the end of the driveway.

Ten minutes later, the infamous red car came driving down our street, and Dad began clicking away on the camera. As soon as the driver saw him, the car roared off, but it was too late. Dad had captured the license plate as well as a picture of the driver.

"Is this her, Bells?" Dad asked as he showed me the camera's view screen, and I nodded. It was definitely Tanya, and there was a nasty look on her face.

"So what happens now?" I asked him as we walked inside the house.

"We'll see if she shows up tomorrow. If she does, then I'll be taking a drive to Port Angeles to have a chat with her and find out what what's going on."

_It's her_, I texted Edward a few minutes later, and he quickly wrote back.

_What in the world? Why is she driving by your house?_

_IDK, but it's creepy. _

It would make more sense for her to stalk Edward. Stalking me really didn't make much sense unless she was planning on robbing my house or something.

_Maybe I should have a talk with her, _he suggested, and I told him not to because that was probably what she wanted. I let him know that if she came around tomorrow, Dad was going to follow her home and have a talk with her.

_Oh to be a fly on that wall. I wonder what she'll say._

_No clue, but dad will fill me in if he does have to talk to her._

During lunch the next day at school, I filled Angela, Ben, and Eric in on how things were progressing, and Ben started cracking up.

"Maybe it's you she wants and not Edward," he suggested, and I made a face at the thought.

"Yeah, she's not really my type. I'll stick to Edward," I commented dryly.

"I don't blame you," Eric said with a wink. "If I had an Edward, I'd hold on to him, too."

The rest of the school day flew by with only a minor encounter with Jessica. Lauren hadn't messed with me since I'd gotten her suspended, but Jessica had taken it upon herself to avenge her friend or some crap like that. Mike did his best to keep her away from me, and I'd heard Lauren tell her to drop it once or twice also, but Jessica wasn't listening to either of them.

She would leave nasty notes in my locker, warning me to watch my back, and I'd informed Mr. Greene as well as my dad, so Jessica was on notice. She would also follow me around school, saying things as if she was trying to start a fight. She wasn't worth my time, so I tended to just ignore her.

Today's encounter involved her trying to steal my gym clothes and failing miserably. One of the other girls in our class saw her and let me know. I was really getting sick of her pathetic attempts to get back at me. It would be almost comical if it wasn't so sad.

As soon as the bell rang, I grabbed the books I needed from my locker and made my way out to my car where I discovered I had a flat tire. Looking closer at it, I saw that the tire had been slashed, and I saw red.

"Jessica, you fucking bitch," I muttered, whirling around to see if she was in the parking lot.

I didn't see her anywhere, and I was kind of grateful that I didn't. I was so freaking livid that I was a bit scared of what I might do if I saw her.

Opening up the back of the jeep, I grabbed the jack and the tire iron and placed them on the ground before struggling with the spare tire.

"Let me help," Eric said when he saw me, and I gladly accepted it. It wasn't that I couldn't change a tire on my own, but it was nice to have help.

While Eric began taking the lugnuts off, I sent Dad a text, telling him someone had slashed my tire. Seconds later, my phone rang.

"Are you sure?" were the first words Dad asked me.

"Yeah, there's a giant slash in it. I think it might be Jessica, but I don't have any proof."

"Do you need me to come help you?"

"Nope, stay at home and see if Tanya shows. I've got Eric helping me change the tire, so I'll be home soon."

A little while later, I got home and saw that the cruiser was still in the driveway. I pulled in beside it and hurried inside.

"She was a no show," he told me.

"Well, hopefully she got the hint and won't bother me anymore," I said, and I hoped it was true. I had enough drama, dealing with Jessica.

* * *

**a/n: As always, I love hearing from you all.**


	15. Chapter 15

**A/N: Thank you all so much for reading and/or reviewing. It warms my little heart. Also a huge thanks to my beta, Heather, who makes sure I add commas and gives me wonderful advice.**

* * *

The next month passed by without much incidence although I never did figure out who had slashed my tire. Jessica left me alone for the most part, and there hadn't been any more drive-by sightings of Tanya.

According to Alice, Tanya had gotten back together with James, who I was pretty sure was the same James Dad had mentioned, but she told me she had a bad feeling about it. When I asked her why, she told me she couldn't explain it, but she felt something bad was going to happen to either me or Edward, and that had left me a bit on edge.

"Just ignore her," Edward told me later that night as we talked. "Alice gets these so called feelings or claims she's psychic, but it usually amounts to nothing. Don't let her get you all worked up."

"I won't. I promise. So, are we on for tomorrow afternoon?" I asked him.

"Of course. I haven't seen you in three days, and I miss you and your beautiful face."

"Oh, so you just want me for my beautiful face?" I teased. "What about my spectacular body? Or my sparkling personality?"

He barked out a laugh. "I love all of you," he said, and my heart about stopped at his words.

We'd only been dating for two months, and that was far too fast to be uttering the L word, right? I was in definite like with Edward, but I wasn't ready to say I loved him.

"So, what are we doing tomorrow?" I asked because Edward had been incredibly hush-hush regarding our plans.

"You'll see," he said secretly, and I rolled my eyes even though he couldn't see me. "And don't even try to get it out of Alice because she doesn't know either, and you know I didn't say a word to Emmett."

Emmett couldn't keep a secret to save his life, and while Alice was pretty good at keeping them, I knew if I begged and pleaded enough, she'd give in.

"Fine, but can you at least tell me if I need to dress up or keep it casual."

"Definitely casual," he told me, and I tried to figure out what he was planning.

I'd learned over the past month that Edward was quite the romantic. He was always finding new ways to surprise me, and I loved it.

Just last week, he'd sent me a postcard, something that we hadn't done since I'd moved to Forks. It had been incredibly sweet in more ways than one. The postcard had cupcakes on the front, and on the back Edward had written _life is short, eat dessert first._ A small box with a cupcake had shown up at my doorstep not much later, and I'd practically swooned.

The next afternoon, I changed into a pair of skinny jeans, a dark blue sweater, and boots, and grabbed my coat as Edward pulled into the drive.

Being the gentleman that he was, Edward got out and opened my door, closing it once I was in the car.

"Where are we going?" I asked, and he just laughed and shook his head.

A little over an hour later, we were driving down his driveway, and I looked over at him.

"We've got the place to ourselves for a few hours. Emmett and Alice are out on dates, Dad's working late, and Mom is out with friends," he said.

"Stay here, okay?" he asked once we'd entered the house.

I nodded and watched as he disappeared into the kitchen. A minute or two later, he came back out, took my hands in his, and told me to close my eyes. I did as he asked. and he slowly led me forward.

"Okay. Open your eyes," he whispered in my ear, and I let out a gasp when I did.

He'd brought me into the formal dining room where the table was set with candles, flowers, and two plates with lobster on them.

"Edward! This is amazing!" I said, throwing my arms around him and pressing my lips to his.

He beamed before pulling my chair out for me, and I thanked him as I took a seat.

Our dinner was delicious, and once we were done, Edward led me to the backyard patio where he started a fire in the gorgeous fire pit.

He pulled me down to sit beside him, and I curled into him, resting my head on his shoulder while he wrapped an arm around me.

We didn't feel the need to speak, and I reveled in the quiet that surrounded us. It was so rare for us to have any peace and quiet when we were at his house. Alice and Emmett tended to want to do things with us, which was fine, or his mom and dad would talk to us, so it was nice to just be alone for once.

A cold rush of wind rushed over us, and I shivered as I snuggled up closer to Edward. His grip on my shoulder tightened, and he pressed a warm kiss to the side of my head.

"Want to go in?" he asked, and I shook my head. I wasn't ready to let go of our little bubble.

"Okay. I just don't want you to freeze," he said, and I tilted my head up so he could drop a sweet kiss on my lips.

"I'm pretty sure your kisses will keep me warm," I told him, and he let out a small chuckle.

"Well, I do aim to please," he murmured, bringing his lips back to mine.

Our kiss started off slow and sweet before our passions got the best of us, and our kisses became hot, heavy, and almost frantic.

It was as if I couldn't get enough of him as I held him close, and I was pretty sure he felt the same way. One hand was on my lower back while the other cupped the back of my head, and his kisses had grown almost bruising.

I was loving every minute of it, but I knew we had to stop once I'd found myself straddling his lap as his hands traced up and down my back.

"We need to stop," I murmured against his lips.

"I know," he said, but we didn't. Our lips stayed fused together, and our hips were grinding gently against each other, and I was feeling all kinds of good.

However, the sound of a car pulling up had us parting, and I scrambled off his lap, smoothing my hair back and hoping my face wasn't bright red although I was sure it was.

I watched as Edward discreetly adjusted himself before wrapping his arm back around me and tugging me to him.

"That was a close one," he whispered, and I let out a nervous giggle.

"No kidding. We're so going to get busted one of these days," I told him, and he let out a laugh, nodding his head in agreement.

"Anyone home?" I heard Esme call, and Edward hollered that we were out back.

"How was your date?" she asked us as she took a seat on the bench across from us.

"Wonderful. Edward's a true gentleman," I told her.

"Yes, we did right by him," she said with a wink. "Sadly, we failed with Emmett."

I cracked up at that because she was so right. Poor Emmett tried to be gentlemanly, but he almost always messed it up. He tended to speak without thinking, but it didn't seem to matter to Rose. She loved him the way he was.

We hung out with Esme, and eventually, the rest of the Cullens showed up, and we all sat around the fire, talking. Before long, I was yawning, and since tomorrow was a school day, I told Edward I needed to get home.

I waved goodbye to all of them before walking out to Edward's Volvo, and we began the hour drive back to Forks.

"Thank you for a wonderful date," I told him, placing a gentle kiss on his lips once he'd parked his car in my driveway.

"Of course, sweet girl."

He walked me up to the door where he gave me a kiss goodnight, and I went inside and found Dad passed out on the couch with some sports show on the TV.

I woke Dad up, told him I was home, and made my way up to my room where I quickly fell asleep.

* * *

"Hey, sugar," a voice said from behind me as I was shopping for groceries the following week.

I turned around and saw a greasy looking guy with a blond ponytail, leering at me, and I turned back around and did my best to ignore him.

"Well now, that's not nice," he said, and I let out a bothersome sigh.

"Hi," I responded. "Am I allowed to go back to my shopping now?"

I knew I was being rude, but I honestly didn't care. The guy creeped me out and had the hairs on the back of my neck standing up.

Snatching a bag of chips off the shelf and tossing it into my cart, I hurried down the aisle and moved on to the next.

However, every time I turned around, he was there, staring at me, and I was really beginning to become paranoid.

Pretending to check my phone, I snapped a picture of the guy and then texted my dad. I told him that the guy was following me around the grocery store, and I was bit freaked out.

Almost immediately, my phone rang, and I fumbled to answer it.

"His name is James Victoria," Dad said and I vaguely remembered Dad mentioning that the guy was bad news.

"Is he dangerous?" I asked.

"He's mainly done time for petty crimes, but that doesn't mean that he's not a menace. If you really start to feel threatened, I can come get you or send a deputy out there."

"No, I think I'll be fine. I still have that pepper spray you gave me, so if messes with me, I can always mace him."

"Just be safe. I mean it, Bells. If he tries to follow you home, you come straight to the station, okay?"

"Okay," I told him before hanging up.

I finished my shopping, not really paying much attention to what I was grabbing because I was too busy keeping an out for James.

As soon as I had what I needed, I made my way to the checkout and then rushed out to the parking lot. With one hand steering my cart, I dug the pepper spray out of my purse and gripped it tightly in my other hand.

I looked around the parking lot and didn't see James, but I did spot a familiar looking red car near a lamppost, and Tanya was behind the wheel.

I shoved my groceries into the back of the jeep and put the cart away, and as I climbed behind the wheel, I saw James get into the car with Tanya.

I pulled out my phone and took a picture of it to show my dad because I suddenly found it very suspicious that Tanya would show up in Forks with James who had approached me in the grocery store. Something was definitely up, and I didn't think I sounded paranoid at all.

_Is Tanya still with that James guy?_ I texted Edward as soon as I was home.

_No idea. Why?_

I explained to him that a guy named James Victoria had approached me and then climbed into Tanya's car at the IGA.

_I don't like this_, he texted back, and I completely agreed with him.

When Dad got home later that night, I showed him the pictures even though I knew he couldn't legally do anything about it at this point in time, but I wanted to keep him informed nonetheless. It wasn't like Tanya and James were doing anything illegal, but it was suspicious given everything else.

Dad told me to keep an eye out and to document every time I saw them as a precaution. I told him I would, and I hated that I'd somehow managed to bring so much drama into our lives.

"It's not your fault, kiddo. You know that, I know that, and Edward knows that. The poor kid just had the misfortune of being born good looking. It's a burden that some of us men just have to bear," he told me with a grin, and I burst out laughing. Sometimes, my dad was so weird.

The next day as I drove to school, I passed a dark pickup that was traveling slowly but didn't think anything of it until I spotted it parked outside the school on my lunch break.

"What's wrong?" Angela asked.

"I'm not sure," I told her. "There's a truck parked in the lot that I've never seen before, and I passed it this morning on the way to school. It's probably nothing."

"Well, we'll keep an eye on it," she said, and Ben and Eric nodded their heads in agreement.

"Thanks, guys."

I kept an eye out for the dark truck on my way home, and even though I didn't see it again, I still mentioned it to Dad later that night.

"Did you get a license plate number?" he asked, and I shook my head.

"No. I didn't even think about that because I wasn't too concerned about it at first until I saw it sitting in the lot at school."

"If you see it again, get a plate number, and I'll run it," he promised, and I nodded.

I really hoped that it was just a coincidence and that I'd never see the truck again, but I had a feeling that was unlikely.

Thankfully, by the end of the week, I hadn't seen the truck again nor had I seen Tanya and her red car. I was really hoping things would go back to normal.

However, on Friday evening, Edward called me to tell me that Tanya had stopped by his house after school and had wanted to talk. He'd shut the door in her face after she refused to listen to him when he'd told her to leave.

"Bet she was pissed about that," I said, and he let out a bitter laugh.

"You could say that. She keyed my car," he said, and my mouth dropped open.

"Are you freaking kidding me? What a bitch! Are you going to press charges? I'm sure you could get her for destruction of personal property."

"Dad called the police after she left, and a cop came out to look at the car. He was going to talk to her, so we'll see what happens."

I couldn't believe that she would be so stupid as to key his car, and I hoped she got some sort of punishment for her actions.

* * *

a/n: Yes, the drama continues. I can't help it. I love the drama. As always, let me know what you thought.


	16. Chapter 16

**A/N: Happy 4th of July to those of you here in the states. I hope you all have a fun and safe holiday! As always, a huge thanks to all of you for reading and/or reviewing, and a huge thanks to my beta, Heather, for doing her best to teach me the ways of the evil comma.**

**PS. There's a tiny bit of citrus in this chapter. Thought I'd give you a heads up.**

* * *

The next day, I drove to Edward's house after school, and I let out a growl when I saw the damage that Tanya had done to his car. She hadn't just keyed a line down the edge of his car like I'd thought. She'd scratched the hell out of it, and the damage would probably cost a ton of money to fix, and I hoped like hell she had to pay for it.

"Hey, sweet girl," Edward said, and I turned around to see him standing behind me, his hands shoved into his pockets.

He looked positively devastated as he stared at his car, and I couldn't help but go over to him and wrap my arms around his waist.

He put his arms around me and placed a kiss to the top of my head.

"You gonna be okay?" I asked him, and he murmured a yes, but I wasn't so sure I believed him.

As we walked inside, I swore I felt eyes on me, but there was no one around. Telling myself I was being stupid, I followed Edward into the house and up to his room.

"Where is everyone?" I asked him, noting that the house was unusually quiet.

"Alice is with Jasper, Emmett's with Rose, Dad's at work, and Mom's at some charity meeting or something like that," he told me as he plopped down on his bed and stretched out.

I stood beside the bed for a second before I gently shoved him, and he scooted over leaving enough room for me.

I got onto the bed and laid down as Edward rolled onto his side and propped himself up on his elbow, and I copied his movement so that we were face to face.

"Is she going to be charged?" I asked him.

"The police questioned her, and at first, she claimed she didn't do it, but she later confessed that she had. Her dad talked it out with mine, and Dad decided not to press charges as long as she pays for the damages."

"So basically, her dad's going to pay for it, and she's going to get off scot free," I muttered, but Edward shook his head.

"Nope. Mr. Denali is furious with her, and while he's going to pay up front for it, she's going to have to get a job to pay him back. Dad said she threw a fit when her father told her that. I almost wish I'd been there to see it."

"Well, what did she think was going to happen? Did she think she'd just get away with it? Man, that girl is crazy."

Edward let out a snort at my words. "Tell me about it."

I was going to ask him what he'd seen her, but I got distracted by how close his lips were to mine, and I couldn't resist leaning over and pressing my lips to his.

Just like I knew it would, our kiss quickly turned from sweet to passionate, and I soon found myself on my back while Edward hovered above me before finally settling between my thighs, and we both let out moans at the feeling of his body so close to mine. I knew we were on slightly dangerous ground, but I didn't care at the moment. All that I cared about was the fact that Edward and I were alone in his bedroom and his lips were on mine.

As we made out, my hands ran up and down his back, and I found myself sliding my hands underneath the back of his shirt, and he let out a low growl as my hands touched his bare skin.

Before I knew it, his shirt was off and lying on the floor by his bed, and I reveled in all that glorious skin before me.

It wasn't as if I hadn't seen him without a shirt before. Over the summer, I'd gone swimming with him many times, but this was the first time I'd been able to not only see his skin but touch it as well.

Gently, I shoved him off of me so that it was his turn to be on his back, and I kneeled beside him as he stretched out, and I took a nice, long look at him.

Edward was so freaking gorgeous, and sometimes, I found it hard to believe that he was mine, but he was. Edward Cullen was my boyfriend, and I hoped like hell he became more than that.

Reaching out, I ran a finger down his sternum, and I grinned when he squirmed slightly. It seemed that my guy was a bit ticklish, so I couldn't resist digging my fingers into his sides, and he let out a girlish squeal as he tried to get away. I started laughing so hard that I couldn't breathe, and that was when Edward made his move.

"You are so gonna pay for that, Bella Swan," he said with a wicked grin once he'd caught his breath, but I was still giggling too hard to pay him much mind.

In a flash, I found myself underneath Edward once more, and then it was my turn to squirm and squeal as he tickled me.

During all the squirming that I was doing, my shirt had ridden up, and I froze when Edward's warm hand touched my bare stomach.

Hardly daring to breathe, I watched as his hand traced light circles on my stomach, and I felt myself blushing as all sorts of naughty thoughts entered my mind.

With one hand still resting on my stomach, Edward leaned down and placed a gentle kiss next to my belly button, and I let out a barely audible gasp.

Reaching up, I grasped the back of his neck and pulled his face up toward me so I could capture his lips with mine.

As we kissed, his hand continued its gentle motion on my stomach, and then I felt that hand begin to move higher.

As soon as his hand reached my sternum, my muscles tensed, and Edward stopped immediately.

"It's okay," I told him. "You don't have to stop. I'm just a bit nervous."

"Are you sure?" he asked, his voice full of concern, and I nodded knowing that he'd stop if I asked him to.

"I trust you."

The kiss that he gave was fierce and full of passion, and I found myself drowning in him.

As we continued to kiss, his hand moved higher and his fingers began to trace the edge of my bra, and I found myself absurdly grateful that I was wearing one of my nicer ones.

After a few moments, I was beginning to go mad and was so close to begging Edward to just touch me when he finally cupped one of my covered breasts in his hand.

"You're so perfect," he murmured against my lips, and at that moment I certainly felt, not only perfect for him but beautiful.

His hand continued to cup me before he gently squeezed my breast, and a wonderful tingling feeling began to take over my body, and I broke away from our kiss to let out a low moan.

Edward's hand on me felt so good, and I wanted to feel his hands all over me.

Pushing myself into a sitting position, I whipped my shirt off and tossed it on the floor before looking at Edward.

He was staring at my chest, and while I wasn't overly large, I had a nice handful going on, and I fit perfectly into his hand.

Edward leaned forward and placed a hard kiss on my lips before trailing his lips down my neck while his other hand reached out and grasped my other breast.

When one of his thumbs brushed over a nipple, I couldn't contain the gasp that left me.

"Okay?" he asked as he trailed kisses across my collarbone.

"Hmmm … yes," I mumbled as I leaned my head back, losing myself in the wonderful sensations that Edward was creating.

Just as Edward leaned down to place a kiss on the top of my breast, Esme's voice rang out saying that she was home, and Edward and I shared panicked looks.

Jumping off the bed, we scrambled to put our shirts on, and I straightened the bed while Edward opened the door since we weren't allowed to have it closed when we were alone together.

As soon as the bed was fixed, I rushed into Edward's bathroom, splashing some water on my face and fixing my hair.

"Hi, sweetheart," I heard her say to Edward as she entered his room.

"Hi, Mom," he replied before telling her I was in the bathroom when she asked where I was.

Taking a deep breath and hoping that Esme couldn't tell what we'd been up to, I slowly opened the door and walked into the room.

"Hi, Esme," I said by way of greeting, and she gave me a quick hug before asking if I was staying for dinner.

It was then that I'd realized I'd promised Dad I'd have dinner with him and Sue at her house in La Push around seven-thirty, so I told Esme that I couldn't stay.

"I actually have to get going soon. I'm driving over to La Push, and I told Dad I'd be there for dinner."

Edward and I followed Esme downstairs, and we talked about school as well as other things until the clock on the mantle in the living room chimed five. It was an hour and twenty-some minute drive to La Push from Port Angeles, and I didn't want to be late.

After saying goodbye to Esme, Edward walked me out to my car and told me to drive safely.

"I will," I promised as I leaned in for a kiss.

* * *

"Long time no see, sugar," the voice of James said from behind me, and I whirled around to see him standing there with a cocky grin on his face and a slightly evil glint in his eye.

I hadn't run into him since the grocery store, and I'd been hoping to never see him again but, obviously, that wasn't the case.

I had no idea what he was doing at the Forks Public Library, but I had a nagging feeling that he wasn't there to check out books.

Choosing not to respond to him, I grabbed a couple of Stephen King books off the shelf and began to walk toward the front desk to check out.

I could hear footsteps behind me, and I knew that he was following me.

I took my time making small talk with the clerk behind the counter before thanking her and pulling out my phone and calling my dad.

I made sure to talk loudly enough that James would know who I was talking to, and I smirked a little as he backed off. It still unnerved me, though, that he had shown up twice at places I'd been.

Once I made it into the parking lot and over to my jeep, I hung up the phone and opened the back door to toss my bag of books into the backseat.

"Still ignoring me?" James asked, and I scowled and clutched the keys that were in my hand even tighter. If I had to, I'd stab him in the eye with one of them.

"Why don't you run along and report back to Tanya?" I suggested as I turned around to look at him. "Isn't that why you're here? So, you can help her stalk her ex-boyfriend's girlfriend?"

"You have no idea what you're talking about," he snarled with a dark look in his eyes.

"Oh, so you're not stalking me? It's just a coincidence that you show up here in Forks at places I just happen to be at? It's just a coincidence that you happened to be with Tanya the first time I ran into you? I don't think so."

His face had flushed a dark red as he stared at me, and I felt incredibly uneasy. I knew better than to stand there and goad him, but I couldn't help it. He put me on the defensive.

"Let's just say that I'm helping a friend out," he said in a cold voice with a nasty grin on his face, and I flinched as he stepped closer to me.

"Hey, Bella," someone called out, causing James to step back.

I never thought I'd be glad to see Mike Newton, but in that second, I could have hugged him for his perfect timing. Although, what he was doing at the library was a mystery. He wasn't exactly the reading type.

"Hey, Mike. What brings you here?" I asked, watching as Mike came closer.

James shot him a dirty look before crossing the parking lot and getting into the dark truck that I'd seen before. I knew I'd have to tell Dad about my encounter with James, and I knew he'd be pissed that I'd egged him on.

"Uh … community service," Mike said in a sheepish voice. "My party last week got busted up by your dad, and I was given a choice of community service or jail time. I took the community service."

"Good idea."

"Yeah, so was that James guy bothering you?" he asked me, his hands in his pockets.

"You know him?"

Mike nodded. "I met him at a party a few years ago. He's a nasty piece of work. He's really into drugs, and he's got a pretty violent temper."

He paused for a second before asking me what I was doing hanging out with James.

"I wasn't. He's been following me, and I'm pretty sure Edward's ex, Tanya, put him up to it."

Mike winced at my words. "That's a bad combination right there. I met Tanya a few years ago at summer camp, and she's all about drama, and James is all about violence. If they're working together, nothing good can come of it."

"Fabulous," I muttered.

"Listen, Bella, I know that we haven't been the best friends and a lot of that is on me as well as Jessica and Lauren, but I don't want anything bad to happen to you. Lauren and Jessica have been hanging out with Tanya a lot lately. I'll keep an ear to the ground and let you know if I hear anything."

"Thanks, Mike," I told him, and I meant it.

Mike had backed off and had done his best to get Jessica to leave me alone over the past month, and I really did appreciate it. I had enough drama going on without having to worry about Jessica inflicting revenge on me because Lauren had gotten in trouble. Thankfully, Lauren hadn't bothered me too much since her suspension. Oh, occasionally she had something nasty to say or some crappy rumor to spread, but it wasn't anything I couldn't handle.

I got into the jeep and drove home, keeping an eye out for the dark truck that belonged to James, and I sighed with relief when I made it home and hadn't seen him.

"Hey, kiddo," Dad said once I'd entered the house, and I sat down on the couch to tell him all about my run in with James.

Dad had been livid, threatening to have James arrested even though he technically had nothing on which to hold him.

I told Dad not to do anything rash which had him grinning as he looked at me before telling me that I needed to avoid James and Tanya at all costs. I wasn't to engage in any kind of conversation with either of them, and I promised him I wouldn't.

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**a/n: Let me know what you thought, and I'll see you next week.**


	17. Chapter 17

**A/N: Sorry that this a tad bit late. I was sleeping, and I do enjoy sleep. A huge thanks to all of you for reading/reviewing this story, and an even bigger thanks to my beta for her awesome advice and beta skills. I just wanted to let you all know that there's 6 real chapters left and then an epilogue. It's all slowly coming to an end. **

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"I don't want you to go," Edward whispered in my ear as we snuggled together on the living room floor, watching a movie with Emmett and Rose.

"I know, but I need to. My flight leaves at eight, so that means I have to be up by super early, and it's a long flight to West Virginia."

The month of February had passed us by, and I'd had a couple more James and Tanya sightings, but they hadn't led to anything. Now, here we were in March, and I was about to fly out to West Virginia for my mom's wedding.

"All right, sweet girl, let's get you home," Edward said, standing up and holding out his hand.

"Sorry to call it an early night, guys, but I gotta go," I told Rose and Emmett, and they both waved goodbye and told me to have fun visiting my mom.

"Send me a postcard!" Emmett hollered as left the room, and I shouted back that I would.

I was planning on sending them all postcards as well as collecting a few for my own collection.

"I'm gonna miss you like crazy," Edward said as he walked me up to the front door of my house a while later, and I threw my arms around him.

"I wish you could come with me," I said into his neck, and I felt him press a kiss onto my head.

"Me, too," he said with a sigh. "But, I promise, we'll talk every day that you're gone."

"I know," I said, pulling slightly away and leaning up on my tiptoes to press a kiss to his lips.

It didn't take long for our kiss to turn hot, and I moaned when Edward's tongue slid across mine, and I knew we had to stop. My dad was just inside the door, and I so didn't want another sex lecture from him.

Last week, Dad had come home early from work, and he'd caught Edward and I in a rather compromising position. Thankfully, all of our clothes had been on, but it had been extremely embarrassing for all of us, and poor Edward had been terrified that my dad was going to shoot him.

Dad hadn't shot him, but he'd called Carlisle and asked him to have a talk with Edward, and once Edward had left, I'd had to endure a sex lecture from Dad. It had been painfully awkward for both of us, and by the time Dad was done, we'd both been red in the face and neither of us could look at each other for a few hours. But, I had to give Dad props for giving me the practice-safe-sex lecture. I figured he'd call Mom and make her do it, and I'd already had that lecture from her.

"Call me when you land," Edward said, and I nodded, giving him one last kiss.

Once I was inside, I popped my head into the kitchen where I could hear Dad rummaging around in the fridge.

"Hey, Dad. I'm home," I said, grinning when he turned around with his hands full of next week's meals.

"Dad! Don't eat all the food I cooked or you're going to be starving for the rest of the week," I scolded lightly.

"Relax, Bells. Sue promised to make sure I ate right and didn't spend all my money at the diner."

God bless Sue. Thanks to her, Dad ate healthier without putting up too much of a fuss, and I knew she'd take care of him while I was away.

"All right, well I'm going to bed. I'll see you bright and early."

Dad wished me a goodnight, and I made my way up to my room where I checked that my alarm was set before hitting up the bathroom to brush my teeth and wash my face.

Three am came way too early, and I grumbled as I made my way downstairs with my suitcase.

"Morning, Bells!" Dad said, and I hated how freaking cheerful he was first thing in the morning.

"Morning," I grunted as I took the cup of tea he handed me.

"We need to leave in a few minutes," Dad said, and I nodded. It was a three hour trip to Seattle, and the airport always wanted you there early to get through security and whatnot.

Ten minutes later, we were in the jeep, and Dad told me to go ahead and sleep and that he'd wake me up once we were in Seattle. I totally took him up on his offer and was out like a light a few minutes later.

A little over ten hours later, I was stepping off the plane and into the Yeager Airport in Charleston. It was the closest airport to Morganstown, and I grinned when I heard my mom holler my name.

Dodging around people, I made my way to where my mom was standing and waiting for me. I grinned when she threw her arms around me, suitcase and all. I let out a laugh as I hugged her back, and it was then I realized just how much I'd missed her.

I'd been so busy with school, Edward, and drama that I hadn't kept in touch with my mom as much as I could have, and I felt incredibly guilty about that now.

"Let me look at you," Mom said, placing her hands on my shoulders and taking a long look.

"You look wonderful," she said, pulling me in for another hug. "How's your dad? How's Edward? How's Forks?"

I let out a laugh at all of her questions.

"Good to all of them," I told her as we began to make our way out to the parking lot. "Dad is dating, Edward and I are doing great, and Forks has grown on me."

"Oh, it's wonderful to see you so happy," Mom gushed, and I beamed at her.

She looked wonderful as well, and I told her that. She'd cut her hair into a cute bob, and her eyes shined brighter than they ever looked.

"How are you and how's Phil?" I asked her once we were in her car, and just like that, Mom was off and running.

She loved living in West Virginia, she loved the school at which taught, and Phil was the happiest she'd ever seen him.

"I've taken up knitting," she told me, and I let out a laugh. Of course, she had. Mom loved her crafts, and they made her happy.

"So, I'll be getting a sweater soon?" I asked, and she let out a giggle as she nodded.

A little over two hours later, we were driving down a quiet street in a cute neighborhood when Mom turned into a driveway in front of a cute brick house. I'd seen pictures of the place, but it was much cuter in person.

"I can't wait to show you around," Mom said as she pulled the car into the garage next to a little red sportscar.

We walked into the house from the garage and stepped into a nice formal-looking living room.

"The kitchen is this way," Mom said, and it was a nice kitchen.

"Have you learned to cook yet?" I asked her, and she swatted me lightly on my arm.

"Phil is a wonderful cook, so this is his playground," she said, as she continued to give me the tour of th house finally stopping outside a door.

"This will be your room," Mom said as we walked into a room with soft yellow paint on the walls and pretty white carpet.

"I love it," I told her as I set my suitcase on the edge of the bed, and then we were off so she could show me the rest of the house.

It was sort of small but perfect for her and Phil, and she got a huge smile on her face when I told her that.

"Why don't you go unpack and just relax for a bit," she suggested. "Phil will be home in a couple of hours and we'll go out to eat if that's okay?"

I told her it sounded great, and I made my way back to my room where I plopped down on the bed and pulled my phone out of my pocket.

"Hey, sweet girl," Edward said over the phone, and I let out a sigh at hearing it.

"Hey, handsome," I replied.

"How was your flight?"

"Long," I replied before telling him about Mom and her new house.

We talked for about thirty minutes or so before he had to go, and after I hung up with him, I unpacked my suitcase and used the bathroom.

After I was done, I made my way downstairs where I found Mom knitting and watching a movie on TV.

An hour later, Phil came home, and he welcomed me with a hug and asked how I was. We talked for a few minutes as Mom finished applying her makeup, and then we all climbed into her car to go dinner.

We had a great time at dinner, and Mom and Phil told me all about their wedding plans. It was still a bit chilly outside, so they'd rented a small banquet hall for their wedding. They had friends coming in as well as my mom's sister, my Aunt Carmen, and some of Phil's family; however, I would be the only one in the wedding party.

"It's going to be a nice, quiet ceremony, and we'll have the reception right afterwards," Mom told me, and I nodded because she'd told me all this before, but she was so excited, so I didn't interrupt her.

Two days later, I was getting dressed for the wedding when there was a knock on my bedroom door.

"Bella?" I heard Phil ask.

"Yeah. Your mom wants you in the living room," Phil said, and I told him I'd be right out.

I finished applying my makeup and made sure my hair was perfect before opening the door. As I was making my way into the living room, I could hear Mom and Phil talking to someone.

I got the shock of my life when I saw the perfection that was Edward standing there talking to my mom.

"Edward? What?" I asked in confusion, my brain trying to figure out how he could possibly be here.

He let out a chuckle as he walked over and wrapped me up in a hug.

I held onto him tightly before pulling away and staring at him. I couldn't believe he was here, and I looked over at Mom who mouthed the word surprise.

"I'm beyond thrilled that you're here but kind of confused," I told Edward.

Mom explained she'd known I'd wanted to spend spring break with Edward, but she also knew I wouldn't say anything because I wanted this time to be about her and her wedding.

"So, I called Charlie knowing he was friends with Edward's dad, and the three of us sorted things out."

I gave my mom a huge hug as I thanked her before turning to look at Edward.

"Did you know about this all along?" I asked him, and he shook his head.

"I just found a couple of days ago," he told me. "I was really excited, and I wanted to tell you but decided it would be more fun to surprise you."

He'd certainly done that. I was definitely surprised and incredibly happy to have him there with me.

Seeing as how Edward was already dressed in black dress pants with a button down shirt and a tie, we were able to leave for the reception hall on time.

The ceremony was short and sweet, but the reception lasted for hours. I sat at a small table with Edward as well as a couple of Phil's relatives who were our age, and I watched as my Aunt Carmen got completely smashed.

She'd been a bit upset that Mom had asked me to stand up with her instead of Carmen, and I'd found myself a bit annoyed with her. Carmen was the complete opposite of Mom, but she also liked to hold grudges. I had a feeling she wouldn't forgive Mom for a while.

"I think your aunt's about to get on the dance floor," Edward whispered in my ear, and I followed his gaze.

"Well this should be interesting," I whispered back as Carmen began to try and dance to the pop music that was being played.

"I can't watch," I muttered a few minutes later. There was nothing more terrifying than watching a relative attempt to twerk.

"Yeah, I think my eyes are burning," Edward said with a grin, and I couldn't help but lean over and kiss him.

He returned my kiss, but we didn't stay lip locked for long. We weren't big public-displays-of- affection kind of people. Plus, we were around my family and my mom's friends.

"Looks like they are removing your aunt from the dance floor," Phil's nephew, Leo, told us, and I looked over to see some tall guy helping her off the dance floor.

"Who's that guy?" I asked him, and he told me that was his step-uncle, Eleazar.

It seemed that Carmen was enamored by him, and I mentally wished the guy luck. Carmen was a handful and then some.

Not long after Carmen had exited the dance floor, Etta James' _At Last _came on, and Edward asked me to dance.

I took the hand that he held out, and we slowly made our way onto the dance floor. The only reason we were moving slowly was because I was in a pair of heels that my mom had insisted on buying me.

We found a quiet spot in a corner, away from most of the other dancers, and I laid my head on Edward's shoulder as he wrapped his arms around my waist and held me close.

We swayed gently to the song, lost in our own little bubble, and I was in a state of bliss especially when Edward began to sing-along to the song. His voice was smooth and seductive, and I felt myself falling for him even harder. I was really beginning to think I was in love with him, and that thought scared me just a little.

After the song ended, we made our way back to our table, and I looked over at the table where my mom and Phil were sitting. She was positively glowing, and Phil looked extremely happy, and I knew my mom had found the one for her.

"You okay?" Edward asked as he pulled out my chair for me.

"I'm perfect," I told him, and I was.

Our last two days in West Virginia were spent hiking and exploring the outdoors near Morgantown as well as exploring the town. Mom and Phil had a great time showing us about, and I felt guilty that they were spending time with us and not enjoying a honeymoon.

"Postcards," I blurted out as the four of us passed by the visitor center. "I promised Emmett I'd send him one."

"You and your postcards," Mom teased, and I rolled my eyes.

"At least I'm not addicted to crack or something. Postcards are cheap and harmless," I pointed out, and she let out a giggle.

"Very true."

I bought several postcards, and when we got back to my mom's house, I sat down and wrote them out before Edward and I watched a movie. What Edward didn't know was that I was sending him a card as well, thanking him for being the wonderful person that he was and for coming out to West Virginia to be with me.

"Call me when you get home," Mom said the next day as we waited at the airport for our plane to start boarding.

"I will. I promise," I said before telling her that I loved her.

Twenty minutes later, Edward and I were on our way back to Washington, and I was so glad to have him with me on the seven hour plane ride.

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**a/n: As always, let me know your thoughts!**


	18. Chapter 18

**A/N: Thank you all so much for reading and reviewing! It makes my day. Also, a huge thanks to my beta, Heather, for her awesome comma skills and her ideas.**

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"Oh, you sweet, sweet boy," I said out loud to myself as I stared at the postcard in my hands five days after we'd returned back to Washington.

It seemed that I hadn't been the only one to send postcards, and I stared down at the words written on the back. It read _And tonight, I'll fall asleep with you in my heart. _The boy was killing me, and I couldn't call him fast enough.

"You, sir, are deadly," I told him as soon as he answered.

"Why is that?" he asked as he chuckled.

"You are too freaking sweet. I mean, the things you write on these postcards just melt me."

"Yeah?" he asked. "Good. that's what I was going for. I want you to know just how much I think about you and just how much I love being with you."

There he went again, using the word love when talking about me, and it sent a thrill running through me just like it had the last time he'd said it.

"I love being with you, too," I told him, my heart skipping a beat as I used the L word for the first time while talking to him.

"I figured as much," he said a bit smugly, and I let out a small laugh. "And thank you for my postcard. I had a feeling that I'd be getting one from you."

"I couldn't resist," I told him before asking if anything exciting had happened while we were gone.

"Oh, yeah, but I'm gonna let Alice tell you," he said cryptically, and I barely held back a groan. I loved Alice to death, but she could ramble on for days.

"Why hasn't she called me? We've been home for like five days."

"Who knows," Edward replied, "but she's standing outside my room, yelling at me to get off the phone, so she can talk to you."

"Call me later, okay?"

"I will, sweet girl."

Moments after we hung up, my phone rang with Alice's number lighting up, and I answered immediately.

"What took you so long to call me?" I asked her.

"I've been busy, and then I got distracted because of the school musical. You know I'm doing all the costumes for it, right? So, I've been busy, but I finally remembered, and I just have to let you know."

"Let me know what?"

Alice went on to tell me that Tanya had gotten a job, being a cashier at Wal-Mart, in order to pay her father back. Her driving privileges had been revoked, and she was no longer allowed to see James.

"Well, that's only going to make her find ways to see him," I commented, and Alice agreed.

"Right? Although, what she sees in him is beyond me. At least when she dated Edward, I thought she had some sort of taste. Now, I think she's just desperate."

"Most likely."

"Oh, and get this. Rumor has it that a teenage girl from Forks was spotted at the women's health clinic here in P.A."

"And the big deal is?"

"Come on, Bella. Why would a teenage girl show up at a clinic in a different city without anyone with her? Chances are good, someone is knocked up."

"Oh," was my response. I didn't know who the girl was, but I definitely felt bad for her. Not only was she being talked about, but her entire life was about to change forever.

"I think it was either Jessica or Lauren," she told me.

"Huh. Well, I guess we'll find out eventually. I mean, if it's one of the two, they'll start showing eventually."

Alice went on to chatter about other things, but I didn't pay much attention to what she was saying until she yelled out my name.

"What?"

"Are you even listening to me?" she asked, and I apologized as I told her that my mind had wandered.

"Well, I said that I still can't believe that James was arrested for breaking into Forks High."

Both my dad and Alice had called me while I'd been in West Virginia and told me all about James' arrest for breaking into the school.

"I still can't figure out why he would do that. What did he expect to find? Drugs or money or something?" I asked, although I worried for a few minutes that he might have been trying to break into my locker. Not that I kept anything in there but my books and notebooks.

"No idea, but it sucks that he's out on bail now."

I agreed. Dad had mentioned it earlier, but we hadn't really sat down to discuss it, and I know we needed to. I didn't understand why anyone would let a crazy guy like James out to wander the streets and commit more crimes.

"Listen, Alice, I've got to go, but if you hear anything else, let me know! I'll see you Wednesday after school."

"I will, but do the same. If you find out anything, let me know," she said, and I told her I would before hanging up.

Over dinner, Dad brought up James and fully explained what was going on.

"As I told you earlier, James is out on bail. He will be tried for burglary 2 as well as petty theft, but I'll be honest, Bells. The sentence for burglary 2 is one to three months. However, since he has a record, I'm sure the judge will give him the maximum three months."

I scowled down at my baked potato and mumbled how it didn't seem right that he should be allowed to just run around town, and how the punishment just didn't seem like enough.

"I know, Bells, but that's the way the legal system works. We might not like it, but we have to respect it."

I nodded my head in understanding, knowing he was right, but I didn't like it. I didn't like it at all, and now I was plagued by the thought that James had been rifling through my locker. I guess it could have been worse. He could have broken into our house and rifled through my underwear drawer or something of the like.

The following day at school, I found myself distracted by the gossip that Alice had shared with me, and I was constantly looking around at the girls who passed me in the hallway.

I berated myself for doing it, but I had to admit, I was curious if the rumor was true.

"You're distracted today," Angela commented during class, and I nodded. I didn't want to fuel the fire of the rumor, so I just told her I was thinking about James and how it worried me.

It wasn't a complete lie. I was worried about the whole James situation.

"Guess who I saw working at Wal-Mart yesterday?" Eric asked, and I was grateful for the change in subject.

"Who?" Ben asked, and he told them it had been Tanya.

"Why was she working there?" Angela asked, and I told them it was because she had scratched the hell out of Edward's car and was having to pay her dad back for it being fixed.

"When did that happen?" Eric asked.

"Before break. I thought I'd told you guys that. I guess not. Anyway, she had to get a job in order to pay her dad back, and her car was taken away as well. Oh, and she's not allowed to see James anymore, but I'm sure she'll find a way."

"He's so freaking creepy. What the hell does she see in him?" Angela asked.

I shrugged. "Alice thinks she's just desperate, but I think it's more than that."

I went on to explain my theory of how I thought the two of them were scheming together to somehow break Edward and I up so that she could have him back.

"I know it seems farfetched, but …" I trailed off.

"Maybe, maybe not," Angela said, and Ben and Eric nodded their heads. "Just watch your back, and know that we'll be watching out for you as well."

Just then, there was a ruckus across the cafeteria, and I saw Jessica snarling and pointing my way, and I wondered what she thought I'd done now.

"Man, she's got it out for you," Ben said in a low voice.

"Yeah, but I don't know why. She can't still be mad at me about Lauren getting suspended, can she? I mean, that was months ago."

"Maybe she's still jealous because you're dating Edward," Eric suggested. "I mean, that I can understand because your boy is hot."

Angela shook her head. "I don't think that's it. I think it's something deeper, yet I have no clue what it could be."

I glanced over my shoulder and saw Mike talking quietly to Jessica, but she wasn't having it. She kept shaking her head, pointing in my direction, and arguing with him.

Eventually, she was done listening to him because she shook his hand off her arm and began to make her way toward me with Mike right behind her. I braced myself for whatever crap was going to come spewing out of her mouth.

"You!" she hissed once she was beside me. "You did this!"

"I did what?" I asked because I honestly had no idea what she was talking about. "Listen, Jessica, I have no idea what it is you think I've done. Why don't you go find someone else to take your misguided anger out on."

"I'm sorry, Bella," Mike said as he grabbed Jessica's arm once more and attempted to drag her away.

"Don't you apologize to her!" Jessica screeched. "This is her fault! She's the reason everyone is going to know."

"If you keep screeching like that, then you're going to be the reason that everyone knows whatever it is you're freaking out about," Eric said rather loudly, and I had to hold back the snort that wanted to escape me.

"Shut the fuck up, Eric!"

"Ms. Stanley!" Mr. Banner, the biology teacher, said from behind her. "That sort of language is not tolerated. Come with me."

I watched as Mr. Banner marched her out of the cafeteria, and I had no doubt that I would be blamed for that as well.

"Just watch, she's going to say it's all my fault," I told my table.

"Probably," Mike said, and I'd forgotten he was even there. He looked tired and upset as if he had the weight of the world on his shoulders, and I couldn't help but wonder if Jessica was the pregnant girl.

"I'll talk to her and see if I can't get her to see reason, but I wouldn't count on it," he said in a tired voice. "She really has it out for you, and neither Lauren nor I can figure out why."

"I won't put up with it, Mike. I'm not a scapegoat for her to take her anger out on. I'm sick and tired of it."

"I know. I promise I'll talk to her, but I can't guarantee she's going to listen. I know it's no excuse, but she's been going through a lot lately, and she's taking it out on everyone around her."

"We all have a lot of crap going on, but that's no excuse, and you know it," I told him, and he nodded his head.

"I know. Oh, and I have some information on James and Tanya, but I'll tell you about it later,' he said quietly. "I'll be at the library after school if you want to stop by."

I told him I would before explaining to Angela, Ben, and Eric how Mike had volunteered to find out information about James and Tanya for me.

"He's changed," Ben said as we got ready to leave.

"Who?" I asked.

"Mike. He's not the jock asshole he was at the beginning of the year. He seems to have grown up."

The others nodded their heads in agreement, and I admitted I'd noticed a change in him as well. When I'd first met him, he'd been a cocky jerk who'd tried to flirt with me, but he wasn't like that anymore. Now, he was actually being nice and trying to help me, and I appreciated it.

After school, I went home to drop off my backpack and do some homework before going to the library.

A little after five, I walked into the library where I found Mike shelving books in the young adult section.

"What's up, Mike?" I asked, and he set down the book he was about to put away.

"I'm sorry about earlier at school," he said by way of greeting. "We've been dealt some news that's hard to swallow. Anyway, a friend of mine in P.A. told me that James has been asking around about you. From what it sounds like, he's developed a crush on you and has decided he wants you for himself."

I made a face at his words and barely held back a shiver at the creepiness of it all.

"Ugh, that's so gross. I've only met him, like, twice. How in the world could he have developed a crush on me? That's just not even feasible."

"I don't know, Bella. I'm just reporting what I heard."

"What about Tanya?"

Mike shrugged. "Rumor has it that she knows James has a crush on you, and she's encouraging it because that will allow her to go after Edward."

I just stared at him for a few moments.

"They must be freaking delusional," I said. "I mean, really, who comes up with that kind of plan or whatever that is? It's so dumb."

"I agree. I do know that James is out on bail, so just be careful."

"Thanks, Mike," I told him, and he nodded his head.

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Wednesday afternoon, I drove to Port Angeles to hang out with Alice and Rose and to have some girl time while Edward, Emmett, and Jasper were going to a hockey game.

"You know what?" Alice asked, and Rose and I shook our heads.

"I think we need some more provisions for the homemade pizza we're making for dinner. Perhaps we should hit up Wal-Mart to get what we need," she suggested with a slightly evil grin, and I couldn't help but laugh at her.

Fifteen minutes later, we were walking through the giant store, picking up chips and soda as well as pizza sauce before making our way toward the checkout lanes. Alice scoured through them until she found the one Tanya was working.

The second Tanya spotted us, a sour look came across her face, and I felt slightly bad that we were there to see her in all her glorious misery. Then, I remembered what she'd done to Edward's car and her attitude, and I got over the guilt I was feeling.

"Fancy seeing you here, Tanya," Alice said in an overly sweet voice, and I barely held back a snicker when Tanya shot her a death glare. Of course, the look she gave me wasn't much better.

She didn't say one word to us as she checked us out, and I was so tempted to say something, but I didn't. It took great restraint, and I really wanted to confront her about her scheming with James, but it wasn't the time or the place.

"I thought she was gonna crawl over the cash register and smack me," Alice said once we were back in the car.

I let out a laugh at her words because I could picture Tanya doing just that.

We had a blast, making our pizza and watching cheesy romance movies, and before I knew it, it was close to ten. I said goodnight to the girls, sad that Edward wasn't home to see me off, but I sent him a text once I was home to let him know I'd made it safely.

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**a/n: As always, let me know what you thought.**


	19. Chapter 19

**A/N: I apologize for the delay in getting this chapter up. RL has a tendency to get in the way of things. Huge thanks to my beta, Heather, for, not only betaing while on vacation, but fixing my errors and giving great advice. Also, a huge thank you to you all for reading/reviewing.**

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"I hope to hell your Dad doesn't come home early," Edward murmured against my lips, and I let out a small chuckle as I agreed with him.

We were up in my bedroom, the door shut, and we were on my bed. Our shirts were on the floor, and we'd picked up pretty much where we'd left off at his house the other day.

"We'll hear him pull up," I said as I began pressing kisses to his neck, and he huffed out a laugh.

"We didn't hear him last time," he said, and I nipped at his collarbone. He had a point. We tended to get lost in each other, losing track of time, and it seemed, we lost our hearing as well.

"Relax, Edward," I told him as I straddled him and continued to press kisses across his collarbone and down to his chest. "I set an alarm on my phone for twenty minutes before he's supposed to be home."

That seemed to relax Edward, and I was able to resume my touches and kisses.

While I was busy running my hands over Edward's chest and placing kisses here and there, his hands were stroking my back, and I paused what I was doing when I felt his hands fiddling with my bra clasp.

"May I?" Edward asked, and I took a deep breath as I nodded.

We were entering a whole new level of intimacy, but I trusted Edward, and I knew if I asked him to stop that he would.

He fumbled for a few seconds as he struggled to unhook my bra, and when it loosened, the straps began to slide down my arms.

I sat up, moaning a bit at the feel of Edward hard between my legs, and stopped my bra from sliding off completely. It was one thing for Edward to feel me up over my clothing, but it was a whole other thing for him to feel me up without that barrier between his hands and my skin.

Taking another deep breath, I took my bra all the way off and looked down at Edward's face. There was a look of reverence on it, and he slowly brought his hands around to my front, looking at my face for permission. I nodded my head, and Edward's hands cupped my bare breasts, causing groans from both of us.

He gently squeezed and played with me before taking a nipple between his thumb and forefinger, giving it a light pinch which caused my hips to buck against him.

"God, you're so beautiful," Edward said in a raspy voice, but I was so lost in the sensations he was causing that I couldn't respond.

Edward scooted back on the bed until he was propped up against my headboard, and he brought his lips to mine for a quick kiss before he began to trail kisses down my neck, and I knew where he was headed.

Sure enough, a few moments later, he placed a kiss to the top of each breast, and my fingers wound themselves into his hair.

The second his lips touched one of my nipples, my head fell back, and I felt a wonderful stirring sensation in my lower region. He was invoking the most amazing feelings, and I knew I'd have to take care of things later because I was so worked up. I wasn't quite ready for Edward to help take care of that problem for me.

Edward nipped and sucked lightly on one nipple before switching to the other, and I couldn't help but wiggle a bit against him.

One of his hands dropped away from my breast, and he cupped my hip, holding me still.

"If you keep moving, I'm gonna have a problem," he whispered against my skin, and a satisfied smile crossed my lips.

For the next hour, we touched, kissed, and played, and we were startled when the alarm on my phone went off.

"Guess we should settle down," Edward said, his tongue lightly tracing patterns on my skin.

"Yeah, we should. My dad will be home soon," I commented, climbing off of him and flopping down beside him on the bed.

We laid there catching our breath for a few moments before I grabbed my bra off the floor, putting it on before picking up my shirt.

Moments after we were dressed, I heard a sound from downstairs, and I shushed Edward as he began talking.

"Did you hear that?" I asked in a whisper, and he shook his head.

We stood in my room, barely daring to breathe, when I heard it again. It sounded like glass breaking, and I grabbed Edward's arm when he made a move to open my bedroom door.

"Don't," I whispered, shaking my head. "I'm going to call my dad."

Edward reached out and locked my door before pressing his ear to it, and I was scared shitless because I could hear someone moving around downstairs.

With trembling hands, I grabbed my phone and pushed the button to call my dad. He answered seconds later.

"Hey, kiddo. I'm on my way home now. Did you want to me to pick up burgers from the diner?"

"There's someone in the house," I told him in a hushed voice.

Immediately, Dad was on alert.

"Where are you?" he asked, and I told him that I was in my bedroom with Edward. I knew I'd probably catch hell for that later, but at the moment, that wasn't important, and Dad knew it.

"Stay where you are," Dad said. "Don't leave that room."

I heard him flip on the siren of his police cruiser through the phone, and I opened up my closet, digging around for some kind of weapon. Just because I was locked in a room didn't mean that some crazy psycho killer wasn't going to axe the door down.

"I'll be there in two minutes," Dad said.

"Okay," I replied, watching as Edward grabbed an old bat that was tucked away in the back of the closet. I had no idea that had even been back there, but it would do.

We both froze when we heard the bottom step creak, and I began to hyperventilate.

"Breathe, Bella," Edward said in a whisper, and I nodded. "We're going to be fine. Your dad is almost here."

"He's right, Bells. I'm turning down our street right now," Dad said, and I looked out my bedroom window in time to see the cruiser coming down the road.

Moments later, Dad pulled into our driveway, and I heard heavy footsteps that sounded like someone was running.

"Stay where you are, Bells," Dad said into the phone. "I'm going to search the house. I'll come get the two of you when it's clear, okay?"

"Okay," I told him, and then he hung up.

I heard Dad announce himself as the police when he entered the house, and I waited with baited breath for him to come get us.

A few minutes passed, and I jumped when there was a knock on the door.

"Bells, it's safe. You can unlock the door."

Edward unlocked the door and opened it, and I tossed myself at my dad. He gave me a huge hug and placed a kiss to the top of my head.

"So?" I asked him. "Was it all my imagination or was someone really here?"

Dad led us downstairs, telling me I hadn't imagined it. There had indeed been an intruder in our house, and there was broken glass all over the dining room floor where the person had broken the window.

"Don't touch anything," Dad warned us, and we both nodded. "I've got Ryan coming out with the fingerprinting kit. I want the two of you to go to Edward's house until I feel it's safe for you to come back here."

"For how long?" I asked.

"For the rest of the weekend. I'll call Carlisle, but I'm sure it will be fine," he said, pulling out his phone.

Ten minutes later, after I'd packed a bag, Edward and I were on our way to his house. I was still completely rattled about the break-in, and I felt that my safety had been violated.

"It's going to be okay," Edward told me, reaching over, taking my hand in his, and giving it a gentle squeeze.

"I hope so."

"Your dad and his deputies will find out who it was and arrest them."

I nodded my head, but I wasn't so sure I believed him.

"Do you think it was James?" I asked him, and Edward shrugged his shoulders.

"I don't know. Maybe? Would he be so stupid to break into the chief of police's house?"

"Maybe," I replied because it really wouldn't surprise me at all if James had been the one behind the break in. "He did break into the school after all."

"Oh, Bella!" Esme cried as soon as we entered the Cullen house, and she pulled me into a hug.

I held on tight to her as she rocked us back and forth before she gently pulled away.

"Are you okay?" she asked, and I shook my head no, my eyes filling with tears. I really wasn't okay. It had been scary, and I was so incredibly grateful that Edward had been there with me and that my dad hadn't been too far away.

"Of course you're not. Let me make you a cup of tea," Esme said, and I followed her into the kitchen and took a seat at the counter with Edward standing behind me, his hands resting on my shoulders.

"Edward, honey, are you alright?" she asked him as she put water into the tea kettle.

"I'm fine, Mom. A bit shaken up but okay."

About ten minutes later, as Edward and I drank our tea, Alice came bursting into the house, and I barely had time to put my tea down before she threw her arms around me.

"Oh, my God, oh, my God! Are you okay?" she asked, and I told her I was shaken up but fine.

"Dad said you're staying here until Sunday."

I nodded my head, and she told me that we'd have so much fun, I'd totally forget about the break-in. I wasn't so sure about that though. I had a feeling that was something I would never forget.

* * *

Sunday afternoon I was watching a ping pong tournament between Alice and Edward in the basement of their house when my dad showed up.

"Bella?" Carlisle hollered down the basement stairs. "Your dad is here."

The game was put on hold as we all made our way upstairs and into the living room where I found my dad and Sue with Carlisle, Esme.

Sue gave me a warm smile and a hug when she saw me, and I returned them, glad to see her.

We all sat down, and Dad began telling us what he'd discovered.

It turned out that the intruder had worn gloves, but the person had left some fabric behind when it had torn on the broken the window. The fabric had been sent off to a lab in Seattle for DNA testing and analysis of fibers, but it could be weeks before we found out the results.

"I asked around the neighborhood, and Mr. Pemberton, who lives down the road, said he saw a young man running through his backyard not long after I arrived home."

"Could he see who it was?" I asked, and Dad shook his head.

"Mr. Pemberton is half blind, but he did say that he'd seen the man around before, and that he thought the guy drove a truck."

"James," I said with a snarl. "It was him!"

"I think so, but we can't prove anything yet, Bells. My deputies are hunting him down to bring him in for questioning."

"Hunting him down?" I asked, trying to quell the panic that was beginning to rise. "You mean they can't find him?"

Dad shook his head as he assured me they would find James, but I wasn't so sure.

"They never should have let him out on bail! He's probably in Canada by now!" I exclaimed.

"Bells," Dad began, but I shook my head.

"If it makes you feel any better, I've had a security system installed, and the broken window has been fixed," he said, handing me a piece of paper with a code on it and told me to memorize it.

"You too, Edward, in case Bells forgets."

Later that night, after Dad and I had arrived home, I found myself listening to every noise the house made. I was beyond paranoid, and I couldn't sleep to save my life. Eventually though, I fell asleep and was rudely awakened by my alarm less than three hours later.

"Morning, Bells," Dad said after I'd stumbled my way downstairs and into the kitchen. "How did you sleep?"

"Like crap," I told him as I poured myself a glass of orange juice and shoved a couple of cinnamon Pop-Tarts into the toaster.

"Well, I've got a bit of good news. James was caught hiding out in an old cabin, and he's been brought in for questioning. We're going to hold him for the next twenty-four hours if not longer," Dad said, and I let out a sigh of relief.

I did feel better knowing that James was in custody. Hopefully, he would confess to breaking into our house, and Dad could keep him locked up for a while.

After I ate my breakfast, I said goodbye and climbed into the jeep and began my drive to school.

Once there, I was immediately bombarded with questions about the break in by all kinds of people, and I shook my head at how quickly news spread in a small town.

"Is it true?" Angela asked me as I opened my locker and grabbed the books I needed.

"That my house got broken into? Yes, that's true. All the other crap that people are spewing, not so much."

In the time that it had taken me to walk through the front door and to my locker, I'd heard at least four different versions of what had happened, none of them being correct. People were saying my dad had killed the intruder while others said that I'd taken down the bad guy with my dad's gun, but the more absurd one was that I'd broken the window myself and then reported it in in a desperate attempt for attention.

"Well, I figured you didn't do it yourself," Angela commented dryly. "Although, you are an attention whore, so I could be wrong."

I let out a laugh at her words.

"Oh, yeah, you know me so well. I just live to be the center of attention," I said with an eye roll.

"It wouldn't surprise me at all if she hired someone to do it," I heard Jessica say, and I just kept walking. I so wasn't getting into anything with her.

"No, she wouldn't, Jess. Just let it go already," I heard Lauren say, and I almost stopped in my tracks.

There was no way I'd just heard Lauren defend me, and I looked over at Angela who looked just as shocked as I did.

"What, you're best friends with her now?" Jessica sneered, and I saw Lauren shake her head out of the corner of my eye.

"Just leave it alone. You're coming across as a major bitch. Just because you fucked up your life doesn't give you the right to take it out on everyone else!" Lauren said in a tight voice before stalking off.

"Whoa," I mumbled with raised eyebrows.

"It must be bad if Lauren's turning on Jessica," Angela said quietly, and I nodded my head.

"Yeah, something is definitely going on there," I agreed before we parted ways.


	20. Chapter 20

**A/N: Alright, folks. We've got 3 regular chapters left and then an epilogue. Updates will either be late Saturdays or Sunday mornings. I've had a massive change in my schedule, and after 3 1/2 years working on third shift, I'm finally moving to first, so things are slightly erratic right now. Huge thanks to my beta, Heather, for her awesomeness, and thanks to all of you for reading/reviewing.**

* * *

I'd just taken my seat in the cafeteria at the table next to Angela when I heard raised voices coming from a table behind us.

"Just leave it alone!" Lauren growled, and I saw Jessica roll her eyes before she told Lauren to sit down and shut up.

By now, it seemed as if the whole cafeteria was watching them, and neither of them seemed to care. They kept going at it, yelling and hissing at one another, with poor Mike trying to diffuse the situation with no luck whatsoever.

"You're such a slut," Jessica snarled, and my eyebrows practically flew off my face. I knew that Lauren and Jessica had been having issues, but calling your best friend a slut, and meaning it, was pretty damn low.

"At least I'm not knocked up!" Lauren shouted loud enough for the whole cafeteria to hear, and a deafening silence covered the room.

Jessica stared at Lauren with a stunned look on her face before bursting into tears, and Mike wrapped an arm around her and began to lead her out of the cafeteria but not before telling Lauren what a shitty friend she was.

The second the two of them were out of the room, everyone began talking, and I just shook my head at it all. I wasn't a fan of Jessica's, by any means, but I couldn't imagine finding myself pregnant at seventeen and then having my best friend out my condition to the entire school.

"Holy shit," Eric muttered, and I turned back around to look at him. "They're going to be parents!"

It was a slightly terrifying thought, but perhaps it would make Jessica grow up a bit.

"I can't even imagine," Angela said in a quiet voice, and I was in agreement with her. The thought of having a kid at our age was scary. My parents had only been a few years older than I was now when I was born, and it had been hard for them. I had no desire to go through that.

"Me either," I told her in a soft voice, glancing back over at Lauren's table once more.

She was sitting there with her arms folding on the table and her face buried. I had a feeling that she felt like shit for outing her best friend, and I was willing to bet that it would be a long while before Jessica and Mike forgave her.

By the time school had ended, I was sick of hearing about Jessica and Mike, and I just wanted to go home and relax.

Two hours after I'd gotten home, my doorbell rang, and I grinned when I saw Edward standing on the porch.

I opened the door and let him in, placing a kiss on his lips before he'd even gotten all the way through the doorway.

"I didn't know you were stopping by," I said, not that I was complaining.

He shot me a grin before leaning down and placing a hot kiss upon my lips.

"I don't have much homework, and I missed you."

That was as good a reason as any, so we made our way over to the couch, and we soon got lost in one another. We couldn't seem to keep our hands to ourselves, and it wasn't long before our shirts had been discarded and I was straddling his lap.

I was completely lost in Edward's taste and touch, grinding away on his lap, when I was stopped cold by the thought of Jessica and Mike. I had no idea, really, why they popped into my head all of a sudden, but it was like having a bucket of ice water dumped on me, and I pulled away.

"What's wrong?" he asked.

"Sorry," I told him as I climbed off his lap and curled up next to him. "I suddenly found myself thinking about Jessica, Mike, and teenage pregnancy."

He looked at me with a raised eyebrow, and I quickly explained what had happened at lunch, and he sat back with a stunned look on his face.

"Wow," he said softly before suggesting that we might want to slow down things between us.

"I think we're doing okay. When we decide to have sex, we'll be safe," I told him, blushing as I spoke, and Edward's face flushed slightly, and I could tell he liked the idea of us having sex. Of course, he did. He was a teenage boy after all.

* * *

A couple of days later, I was up in room, doing homework, when I heard the front door open, and my heart jumped. I was still a bit nervous about being alone in the house even though the security alarm was set.

"Hey, kiddo!" Dad hollered when he shut the front door, and I sighed in relief before I shouted a hello from my bedroom before telling him I'd be down in a few.

I finished up the last of my math homework and made my way downstairs and into the kitchen where I could hear Dad puttering around.

"I picked up some fried chicken and mashed potatoes," he said as he reached into the cupboard, pulling out a couple of paper plates and passing me one.

As I grabbed a piece of chicken from the bucket, I told Dad about my day before asking about his. He told me his day had been pretty quiet until he'd been called out to break up a fight between Mr. Newton and Mr. Stanley.

"I bet that was fun," I commented, and Dad let out a snort before he got a serious look on his face.

I assumed that I was about to, once again, get a lecture on safe sex, but thankfully, that wasn't about what Dad wanted to talk.

"The lab got back to me about the fabric I'd sent them," he said, and I put down the piece of chicken I'd been about to bite into.

"And?"

"They found DNA that belonged to James. He's already been arrested and booked for breaking and entering," he assured me as I opened my mouth to ask that very question.

"Thank God," I said, sighing as I slumped back in my chair. "Did he say why he broke in?"

"He wasn't saying much of anything. Lawyered up pretty quickly," Dad told me. "His arraignment is in a couple of days, so he's in jail for a while at least."

As soon as I was done with dinner, I tossed my plate away and ran upstairs to call Edward and tell him that James had been taken into custody.

"That's a relief. One less thing to worry about," Edward said a few minutes later after I'd told him the news.

"Has Tanya bothered you at all lately?" I asked him because things with her had been a bit too quiet lately.

I hadn't seen her in a while, and I hadn't given her too much thought recently because I was wrapped up in all the James' drama.

"Nope," he replied rather quickly, and I frowned when he changed the subject.

We talked for a little while longer, and after we hung up, I sat there for a few minutes, debating on whether or not to ask Alice if Tanya had done something to Edward.

Finally, I caved and sent her a text, asking if Tanya had been bothering Edward, and the text I got back from her wasn't reassuring at all.

_You need to talk to him_, was all she said, and I let out a huff.

I pulled up Edward's number and dialed it, leaving a voicemail and asking him to call me when I got no answer. I was a bit annoyed that he'd lied to me, and I wanted to know what Tanya had done.

A few hours passed with no call from Edward, and I'd worked myself up into a state, and my imagination was in overdrive. All I could think was that she'd done something to hurt him or that perhaps he'd gotten back with her but was afraid to tell me. I knew I was being ridiculous, but I couldn't stop the thoughts from roaming around in my head as I tried to sleep.

A little after three a.m., I got up and went downstairs to watch some television. There was nothing on but horrible infomercials, so I popped in one of my _Lord of the Rings_ movies and blankly stared at it until my stomach began to rumble.

* * *

"You look like crap," Eric told me as he walked over to my locker where I was grabbing my books.

"Thanks," I muttered. I was in a foul mood, and I didn't give a crap what anyone thought about how I looked.

"Everything okay?"

"Just peachy," I snapped before letting out a sigh and apologizing to him. It wasn't his fault I was feeling crabby.

"Okay, Swan. What's going on?" he asked, taking me by the arm and pulling me into a quiet corner away from the prying ears of the other students.

I told him I was afraid Tanya had done something to Edward or that he was back with her, and I threw out some other stupid ideas I'd come with when I couldn't sleep, and Eric shook his head and told me I was being ridiculous.

"Am I, though?" I asked. "He told me no when I asked if Tanya had been bothering him, yet Alice told me I needed to talk to him about it."

"And Alice is right," he said in a firm voice. "You need to sit down with Edward and talk to him."

I nodded as I fiddled with the strap of my backpack. I made the decision to go over to Edward's house after school, and I sent Dad a text, letting him know I'd be home before nine.

School slowly passed by, and I spent most of it distracted, practically leaping out of my chair when the final bell rang so that I could race to my jeep.

Close to two hours later, thanks to being stuck behind a logging truck driving half the speed limit, I pulled into the Cullen's driveway and parked. I didn't see Edward's Volvo anywhere, but it could have been in the garage.

I climbed out of the jeep and made my way up the front walk before ringing the doorbell, smiling when Esme opened the door.

"Bella!" she exclaimed as she gave me a hug that I returned. "I didn't know you were coming over."

"Last minute decision," I told her as I followed her inside.

"Well, I'm afraid Edward isn't here, but Alice is upstairs in her room."

I did my best to hide my disappointment from Esme before making my way up to Alice's room and knocking on her door.

"Bella!" she said, looking surprised to see me. "What brings you by?"

I sat down on the edge of her bed as I told her that I was there to talk to Edward.

"Oh, well, I'm not sure when he'll be home," she told me, and I frowned. Her voice seemed a bit off, and I asked her what was going on.

She told me nothing, but I wasn't buying it. I crossed my arms over my chest and glared at her.

"You're lying to me," I stated, and she flushed before looking away.

"You've never lied to me before. What is going on, Alice? Is it about Edward? Tanya? Just tell me something!" I demanded.

She took a deep breath, and I mentally prepared myself for the worst.

"It's nothing, really. A couple of days ago, Tanya was waiting for Edward by the mailbox and he totally ignored her. It's you he loves. Don't ever doubt that," she began, and I nodded for her to continue,

"Anyway, he got out of the car to get the mail, and she attacked him."

"What!" I yelled.

"Not like attack attacked him, but she threw her arms around him and planted kisses all over his face, telling him how much she loved him and missed him, and how she realized that she'd made a huge mistake by pushing him away. He shoved her away and got back in the car as fast as he could," she explained.

"Why didn't he just tell me this?" I asked, collapsing back on her bed.

"I'm not sure, but I know he thinks you have enough to deal with. Plus, he didn't want you to think that he'd enjoyed Tanya's advances."

"Boys are so dumb," I grumbled. "He should have just told me."

Alice nodded her head in agreement, and then something that Alice had said registered with me.

"Did you say he loves me?"

"Of course he does. Just like you love him. It's so obvious," she said, flipping through a magazine that had been on her bedside table.

I sat up and just stared at her, unable to believe what she'd said. How the hell did she know I was in love with Edward? I wasn't even sure that I was in love with Edward. Well that was a big ole lie. I was totally and irrevocably in love with him. I just wasn't ready to admit to Edward yet.

My thoughts were interrupted when I heard Esme tell Edward that I was in Alice's room, and I suddenly found myself extremely nervous. Was I supposed to pretend that Alice hadn't said that Edward loved me? I felt like it changed everything, and that was scary.

* * *

"Alice told me about what Tanya did," I told Edward a while later as we sat on the couch in the Cullen's library. "I just don't know why you didn't say anything to me."

Edward pinched the bridge of his nose before looking down at me, and I could see that he was truly remorseful.

"I didn't want you to worry," he told me softly as he picked up my hand and held it. "You had enough going on with James and Jessica. I just didn't want to add more worry."

"I understand," I told him. "But, from now on, though, I want to know if she does or says anything. She has no claims to you, and it really pisses me off that she came after you like that. You could have her charged with sexual harassment."

Edward let out a laugh, but I wasn't joking. She'd made unwanted sexual advances toward Edward, and she obviously didn't know how to take no for an answer.

"I'm serious," I told him, huffing a bit.

"I know you are, sweet girl, but I made it clear to Tanya, yet again, that I have zero interest in her."

"Yeah, but you know she's not going to listen. She never does."

"I'll get a restraining order if I have to," he told me, and I nodded my head. Although, I doubted that would stop her either. The girl was delusional and perhaps a bit psychotic, and I was beginning to think it was time for me to give her a piece of my mind. Granted, I knew that both Edward and my dad would flip out if they even knew I was entertaining the notion of confronting Tanya.


	21. Chapter 21

**A/N: We're down to the wire here, folks. We've got 2 regular chapters left and then the epilogue (which I'm currently working on). A huge thanks to all of you for reading and a massive thanks to my beta, Heather, for making sure those pesky commas are in the right place and for her great ideas.**

* * *

"Prom is almost here!" Alice squealed through the phone, and I rolled my eyes at her exuberance.

"It's still a good month away, Alice," I told her as I looked at Edward while shaking my head.

We were snuggled up on the couch at my house, relaxing on a Saturday afternoon, while my dad was out fishing with Carlisle.

"I know! And that's no time at all. We still have to get dresses and shoes, and we have to decide on a hairstyle and what makeup to use. We have to go shopping and soon."

Edward snorted out a laugh when I let out a loud groan, and I swatted him on the arm as I agreed to go shopping with Alice the next day.

"Oh, and tell my brother he'd better ask you and soon," she said before hanging up.

"I was getting around to it," he promised me before asking me if I'd like to be his date.

"What? No promposal?" I teased, laughing when he made a face. Some of the promposals we'd seen around school had just been ridiculous, and I, personally, felt the whole thing was dumb. I was relieved that Edward hadn't gone that route.

"I'll save my proposal for something far more important down the road," he told me as he placed a kiss on my lips.

"Wait, what?" I asked because I wasn't sure I'd heard him correctly.

He ran a finger across my cheek as he gazed into my eyes.

"I love you, Bella Swan, and I hope to marry you some day," he told me, and my mouth dropped open as my heart felt like it was about to burst out of my chest.

"You love me?"

He nodded. "Very much so."

I threw myself into his arms before pressing my lips to his in a heated kiss. I couldn't believe it. He'd actually said he loved me.

"I love you, too," I said in between kisses.

The rest of the afternoon was spent kissing and groping and saying I love you as often as we could. We were eventually interrupted when I heard my dad's car pull into the drive.

We smoothed our clothing and our hair and pretended like we were watching the movie that was on the TV, but I was pretty sure the cheesy smile on my face was going to give things away.

"You're in a really good mood," Dad commented later that night as we ate dinner.

I nodded my head as I shrugged, but Dad just kept looking at me, and I finally blurted out that Edward had told me he loved me. I braced myself for the whole "you're too young to be in love" speech, but all he said was that he already knew that Edward loved me.

"Just wait a few years to get married," Dad said.

"Well, damn, there go my plans to get hitched at the courthouse next week," I teased.

"Ha, ha. And no babies right away either. Go to college, get married, and then have babies," Dad said in a stern voice, but I knew he'd support me no matter what I did or what happened. Although, I did like that plan. College, for me, was a must. It was something I desperately wanted to do, and I knew that Edward was college bound as well.

"Oh, by the way, I'm going shopping with Alice, Rose, and Angela tomorrow. Prom is a month away, and according to Alice, that's not nearly enough time to find the perfect dress."

"How is it almost the end of the school year?" Dad asked, and I shook my head, just as confused as he was.

It felt as if the school year had flown by, and it was hard to believe that I'd been living in Forks for so long already.

Dad and I chatted for a while longer before I decided to call it a night. Alice had told me she'd get me at nine, and I knew I was going to have a long day of shopping ahead of me, so I'd need all the sleep I could get.

Of course, my plan to get to bed early failed because Edward kept texting me, and I finally told him goodnight before adding on that I loved him, and it made me giddy to see those same words repeated back to me. It was going to take some time getting used to hearing and seeing them coming from Edward.

Eight am rolled around way too early, and by the time Alice pulled up in the drive an hour later, I was only just beginning to feel awake.

I was pretty quiet as she drove us toward her favorite boutique shop in Port Angeles, but she didn't seem to notice or care. She, Rose, and Angela kept a running conversation on which fashions were in and which were out. I wasn't a fashion person, so I didn't pay much attention, and eventually, my mind wandered toward Edward.

"Okay, what's going on with you and Edward?" Alice asked once we were inside the store and browsing the racks of prom dresses.

"What do you mean?" I asked her.

"Well, Edward had a stupid grin on his face all night, and in the car, you had the same one. So spill," she demanded with both the other girls nodding their heads in agreement, begging me to talk.

I shrugged as I browsed through a rack of dresses, not quite ready to spill the beans just yet.

"Bella!" Alice whined, stomping her tiny foot, and I raised an eyebrow at her.

"Are you a toddler?" I asked her. "Are you going to throw a temper tantrum next?"

"Bella," she said again, dragging out my name, and I grinned because she looked like she was about to burst.

"Oh, for the love of God, just tell her before she spontaneously combusts," Rose said, and Angela let out a giggle.

I rolled my eyes at them before telling them that Edward had said he loved me.

The squeals let out by the three girls had me cringing with embarrassment and looking around the store, praying that no one was paying us any attention.

I shushed them, but they ignored me, and I let out a groan when Alice wrapped me up in a tight hug before letting go of me and doing a little dance.

I knew my face was beyond red, and I did my best to ignore them.

"Always making a spectacle of yourself, aren't you Alice?" I heard someone say from behind me, and I turned around to see Tanya standing behind the girls with a haughty look on her face.

Alice shrugged before she began to speak.

"At least I'm not some pathetic girl who hooks up with criminals because she's desperate."

"Or can't seem to get the hint that her ex-boyfriend has moved on and wants nothing to do with her," I muttered under my breath, but apparently, I wasn't as quiet as I thought I was.

"What did you say?" Tanya demanded to know, stomping over to me, and I finally got a real good look at her.

She might have been a pretty girl, but at that moment, her face was ugly and her eyes were cold. She looked bitter and pissed off at the whole world, and she had no one to blame but herself.

"I'm sure you heard me just fine. I know all about your attack on Edward the other day, I know about you and James, and I know that you were the one driving by my house a few months ago. Just let it go already," I told her in a clipped tone. I was so done with her.

She opened her mouth to fire back at me, but I shook my head as I held up a hand, and she looked taken back.

"Leave it alone, Tanya," I said in a firm voice. "You can't have Edward. He loves me, not you. Me! He's never going back to you, and your constantly going after him just makes you look pathetic. Move on. And while you're at it, stay away from James. I don't know what he said or promised you, but I'm sure it's all lies. He's in jail as we speak for breaking and entering into my house. Do you really want to be with a guy like that?"

Tanya's mouth snapped closed before giving me a look that I couldn't interpret, and then she walked off. I wasn't sure who was more surprised, the girls or me.

"Go, Bella," Rose said with a grin, holding out a fist for me to bump.

"What the hell just happened?" Angela asked, looking as confused as I felt. I'd thought for sure Tanya would have kept coming at me, but instead, she'd almost looked defeated.

"I think Bella just put Tanya in her place," Alice said, a stunned look on her face as well.

"As long as she leaves Edward and me alone, I don't care what she does or whom she does," I told them before directing them back to the reason we were there, prom dresses.

Four hours and five stores later, all four of us each had the perfect dress. There had been a huge debate on whether or not to get a long dress or a short dress, so I'd tried on both. Hell, I'd tried on more dresses than I'd ever cared to try on and for a while there, I was afraid we'd never find our dresses and that Alice would end up driving us to Seattle to the huge mall there.

It was at the last store that I'd found my dress, and all the girls agreed that it was perfect. It was a long dress with a blue sequined bodice and a dark blue mesh skirt. I'd been hesitant at first because I wasn't a sequin kind of girl, not to mention that it was a strapless dress, but I'd fallen in love with it once I'd tried it on.

With bags in hand, we made our way out to the car and then back home where the girls filled in Edward, Emmett, and Ben, who had come over to hang out, on my verbal smackdown of Tanya.

"It wasn't a smackdown," I interjected with an eye roll. "It was more like a firm talking to. Hopefully, she'll listen to what I said."

Edward wrapped an arm around me as he pressed a kiss to the side of my head.

"So, I take it you got a dress," he said, changing the subject for which I was grateful. I was tired of talking about Tanya, and he obviously sensed that.

"Yep."

"Are you gonna show me?" he asked, eyeballing the bags that were sitting in the corner of the living room. Alice had been so excited to tell the boys about what had happened at the store, she'd made us drop our bags in the living room instead of up in her bedroom.

I went to tell him sure, but Alice shouted no and told Edward he'd just have to wait until prom to see it, and boy, did he pout which caused me to let out a laugh.

"You guys want to order some pizza and watch a movie?" Emmett asked a few minutes later, and we all agreed.

Halfway through some comedy that the boys wanted to watch, I called Dad and asked if it was okay if I spent the night. Agreeing, he told me he'd see me tomorrow.

* * *

"Are you freaking kidding me?" Alice scowled as she looked out the window the following afternoon.

"What?" I asked around a mouthful of leftover pizza I was eating for lunch.

"Tanya's coming up the walk."

Edward and I looked at each other before we got up and made our way over to Alice. Sure enough, Tanya was coming toward the front door, and the girl looked like crap. Her hair was a greasy mess, and her face looked tired and weary.

She paused for a second before knocking on the door, and Alice looked over at us before asking if we should answer it.

"I want to know what she wants," I told them, so Alice opened the door with a scowl on her face.

"What do you want, Tanya?" she asked with a bite in her voice.

"I need to talk to Bella and Edward," she said, barely able to meet our gazes.

Alice looked over at u,s and we both nodded, so she let Tanya in, and we all went into the library. Alice reluctantly left us to talk, but I would be willing to bet she was sitting right outside the door trying to listen in.

"You wanted to talk, so talk," Edward said, crossing his arms over his chest, a fierce look on his face, and I couldn't help but rub a hand across one of his arms.

With an ashamed look on her face, Tanya began to speak.

"I'm sorry," she began. "I'm sorry for harassing you, keying your car, and causing drama. I just got so caught up in …" she trailed off.

"Caught up in what?" Edward asked with a harsh tone. "Drugs?"

Tanya shook her head. "No. Well, yes, a bit, but I got caught up in James as well. I met him at a party and pretty much told him my whole life story while I was drunk. I told him you had moved on and were dating Bella, and it all snowballed from there."

"What snowballed?" I asked her.

"Everything. James had seen you in Forks at the grocery store shopping and decided that he wanted you. I figured if I could get you and Edward to break up, then I could have Edward and James would get you."

"That's the stupidest thing I've ever heard," Edward said with a look of disgust on his face.

"I realize that now," Tanya said, looking embarrassed. "I really didn't have any idea how to break you two up, so James decided that he would convince Bella to go out with him, and then I could show Edward that you were cheating on him.

"Except that didn't work. You weren't interested in James at all, and that pissed him off. He started talking about how he was going to have you no matter what, and while his talk scared me a bit, my main focus was on getting Edward back."

I stared at her like she was an idiot, and in this case, she was. Her plan with James made absolutely no sense. I mean, I guess if I'd fallen for James it could have worked, but when that didn't happen, why did they keep coming after me?

"So, why drive by my house all the time? Why key Edward's car? Why keep trying when it was clear that I wasn't interested in James?" I demanded to know.

"I was curious about you at first, wondering what it was about you that had Edward moving on so fast. Seeing him happy without me made me furious, so I started driving by your house, thinking I could scare you away from Edward."

"Never gonna happen," I told her.

"I know," she said. "James starting following you because he was positive he could get you to change your mind about him, yet all it did was make you scared and angry, so he thought he would use your fear against you."

"Is that why he broke into my house?"

She shrugged. "I didn't know he had done that until you told me yesterday. I think he's gone a bit crazy."

I told her she needed to tell my dad everything, and once she agreed, I called him and asked him to come over to the Cullen's house. He agreed and arrived a little over an hour later.


	22. Chapter 22

**A/N: Sorry for the delay in getting this posted. I've spent the entire weekend helping my mother move, and I gotta say, I hate moving in summer. It's too hot and humid, and it turns me into a big whiner. Lol. Anyway, a huge thanks to you all for reading/reviewing. Also, a huge thanks to my beta, Heather, for being an awesome beta.**

* * *

"I can't believe that girl," Dad said fifty some minutes later after he'd taken Tanya's statement and given her a serious lecture. "I think she needs counseling. I told her parents that as well, but who knows if they'll listen to me."

"So what happens now?" I asked him.

"If James ends up going to trial for the burglary charge, we can bring her in to testify as a character witness against him, but since she claims she didn't have any actual knowledge of the break in, there's not much we can do to her."

"Do you think there will be a trial?" Edward asked from behind us, and Dad shook his head.

"The evidence is pretty solid against James, but we'll have to wait until his arraignment hearing tomorrow morning to find out if he pleads guilty or not."

"How long will he get if he's found guilty?" I asked, and Dad told us that James would probably only end up doing anywhere between three to nine months in jail, paying restitution, and maybe ending up with community service.

"That just doesn't seem like enough," Edward muttered, and I agreed with him.

"I know," Dad said, nodding. "But that's the law."

By the time Dad and I arrived home, it was a little after six, and I was exhausted from the events of the day. I still hadn't been able to figure out what the hell Tanya had been thinking or why she'd suddenly had a change of heart, but I was just glad that the drama with her was done and over with. At least, I hoped it was.

I also hoped like hell that the drama with James would be coming to an end. Maybe he'd learn his lesson after being arrested, but I wasn't holding my breath. He'd been arrested before, and that certainly hadn't stopped him from continuing to get into trouble.

I told Dad I was going to my room to try and relax a bit before making dinner.

"I'll just order something for us. Chinese sound good?" he asked, and I nodded, grateful that I wouldn't have to cook. Not that I had to. I enjoyed cooking, but I just wasn't in the mood to do it.

Once I was upstairs in my room, I pulled up my email and wrote my mom, filling her in on everything that had happened. Dad had kept her up-to-date on what had been happening with James and Tanya, so I wanted to fill her in on the latest. I knew she'd be relieved that things seemed to be settling down, but I wondered why I didn't feel all that relieved. I guess my mind was having a hard time wrapping my head around the fact that the majority of the drama I'd been dealing with for months had stopped.

* * *

"So, he plead guilty?" Angela asked me at lunch the following week, and I nodded my head.

"Yeah, his attorney advised him to since there was substantial evidence tying him to the burglary at our house."

"So, for how long is he in jail?" Ben asked, and they all shared equal looks of disgust when I told them that the judge had only given James six months. My dad had been pissed about it as well and had pretty much told James that if he showed his face around Forks again, he'd lock him up for good. I was fairly certain Dad meant it.

"Oh, and Tanya apologized to Edward and me for all the drama she caused," I commented, and they're mouths dropped open.

I spent a few minutes explaining what she'd said and how Dad had taken her statement, but Angela wasn't convinced that Tanya was on the up and up. Only time would tell.

"Enough talk about James and Tanya! Let's talk about prom!" Eric said, his eyes lighting up, and he eerily looked like Alice.

"What's there to talk about?" I asked. "It's prom. You dress up, you listen to crappy music, you dance, you get your picture taken, and you may or may not lose your virginity."

Angela and Ben cracked up, but Eric wasn't amused.

"Are you just going to Edward's prom or ours as well?" he asked, and I realized that Edward and I had never actually discussed that part. I had just assumed we were going to his since he'd asked me.

"Um … I don't know," I said before pulling out my phone and sending Edward a text asking him. Our proms were on the same night, but I wasn't sure we needed to go to both of them. I only had one dress after all, and I sure as hell wasn't going shopping for another.

_I was thinking mine, but we can go to yours if you want or hit up both,_ he wrote back a few minutes later, and I responded telling him that I didn't care to whose we went , but I wasn't doing both.

We texted back and forth until the end of lunch before finally deciding to just go to the prom at his school. Who knew deciding that would be so freaking difficult?

I informed Eric, Angela, and Ben that we would be going to Port Angeles High's prom, and Angela pouted a bit.

"We could always hang out afterward," I suggested. "Alice said she was planning on having an after prom party at their house, and you all know that she wouldn't care if you came over."

Agreeing, our prom plans were finalized, and we all went our separate ways as we had different classes. After the last bell rang for the day, I saw Lauren coming my way as I was putting away some books in my locker.

I didn't even bother to hold back my sigh,as I turned to confront her.

"What do you want?" I asked.

"To apologize," she mumbled, and I blinked a few times. Apparently, apologies were just all the rage this week.

"I'm sorry for being such a bitch. I had a long talk with Jessica and Tanya, and I realize that I've been a bit immature about things."

It was such a half-assed apology, but I honestly didn't even care.

"Fine, you've apologized," I told her, slamming my locker door shut. "Just stay out of my way and stop with the drama."

That said, I made my way down the hall and out the front door of the school, calling Edward as I made my way toward the jeep.

"It has been one hell of a strange week," I said as I explained that Lauren had apologized to me.

"Think she meant it?" he asked, and I told him that I didn't really care. I was sick of all of it, and I just wanted the rest of the school year to be spent in peace.

* * *

The rest of the month flew by, and there had been no more incidents of drama. Both Lauren and Tanya had kept their distance from me, and James was locked away for the next six months. It was nice to have a peaceful month with no worries.

Although, prom was fast approaching, and for reasons unknown, I found myself starting to get nervous. It was so stupid. It wasn't like I hadn't gone on a ton of dates with Edward, and it wasn't like everyone didn't know we were in a serious relationship. I think perhaps it was the whole "what happens after prom" that was making me a bit nervous. I wasn't planning on sleeping with Edward, but it almost seemed like it was expected, and I was afraid that Edward was going to expect that.

"What is wrong with you?" Alice asked as we got ready for prom. She was doing my hair, and I couldn't sit still to save my life.

"Nothing," I muttered, picking at the hole in my jeans.

"Liar," she scoffed. "Something is obviously going on with you. Why are you acting all nervous?"

"I don't know!" I snapped before letting out a huge breath and apologizing to her. "I am a little nervous."

"Why?" Rose asked as she flipped through a magazine.

"WhatifEdwardexpectsmetosleepwithhim!" I blurted out, and Alice set down the brush and came around to face me asking me to repeat what I'd just said.

"Did he say something to make you think that?" Alice asked, and I shook my head.

"No, I'm just being stupid," I told her.

"Bella, Edward would never make you do anything you're not ready to do," Rose said, looking up from the magazine in her hands. "He's a gentleman, and you know he just wants for you to be happy."

"I know," I said. "I'm just afraid that everyone else will be doing it, and that he'll expect us to do it, too."

"Edward isn't one to follow what others are doing. Besides, the two of you are coming back here for my after party, and no one is allowed upstairs, so there will be no hanky panky going on. Plus, Mom and Dad will be here," Alice told me in a firm voice, and I couldn't help but giggle at hearing her use the words hanky panky.

"Just how big is this party going to be?" I asked.

"Just us, Angela, Ben, Eric, and his date. That's it," she said with a shrug. "I had a huge party last year, but it wasn't all that fun, so I'm keeping it small this year."

I sighed with relief. I'd been afraid it was going to be some giant-ass party with a bunch of people I didn't know, and I wasn't one for large parties.

Almost three hours later, we were dressed and ready for our big reveal to the guys and our parents were waiting for us downstairs.

As we made our way down the stairs, I held onto the bannister, terrified that I'd fall and ruin the grand entrance. Thankfully, I was able to maintain my balance, and when I looked up once I set foot on the bottom step, I saw Edward's face, and it almost took my breath away. He was looking at me like I was the most beautiful woman in the world, and at that moment, I felt like I was.

"Wow," he said softly as I made my way over to him, and I felt a blush creeping up my cheeks.

"You look beautiful," he said, placing a gentle kiss on my cheek, and I told him how handsome he looked.

We spent thirty minutes taking pictures and being fussed over, and there was even a quick Skype call with my mom before it was time for us to leave.

The boys had rented a limo to take us to the prom, and I couldn't contain my grin as I climbed into it. I'd never before ridden in a limo before, and I decided it was something I could get used to as we drove.

All too soon, we were pulling up in front of the school and being let out.

Clasping Edward's hand tightly, I followed the others into the Port Angeles High gym and let out a gasp when I saw the decorations. I'd been expecting something sort of cheesy, but this was classy and extremely well done.

"Wow! This looks great!" I said, and Alice beamed as she informed me that she and the prom committee had worked their asses off to make sure it looked good.

The six of us found a table in a corner and claimed it as ours, and then we took turns getting our pictures taken.

Before long, the music started and people were out on the dance floor. Alice grabbed my hand as well as Rose's and dragged us onto the floor.

I felt incredibly awkward as I attempted to move my hips like Alice and Rose were doing, but dancing wasn't something I was particularly good at.

"Just relax, Bella," Alice said loudly over the music. "Forget about anyone else, and just have fun."

She was right. I was there to have fun with my boyfriend and our friends, so who cared what anyone else thought?

At one point, _Uptown Funk_ came on, and the boys joined us on the dance floor. We all went insane, jumping around and dancing like lunatics. It was a blast, and I grinned at Edward's ridiculous dance moves. He was almost as bad as I was.

For most of the night, the six of us ruled the dance floor, dancing in a group, laughing, and having a good time. Of course, when the slow music came on, I was all Edward's, and I loved being in his arms.

The final song of the night was Etta James' _At Last_, and everyone seemed to couple off. It was one of my favorites, and being in Edward's arms made the song that much more romantic.

I wasn't ready to let him go even after the song ended, so I stayed in his arms until Alice told us it was time to go.

We took the limo back to the Cullen's house where we were greeted by Esme. She had taken it upon herself to order us a ton of pizza as well as laying out bowls of chips and dip and plates of cookies.

The others arrived an hour later, and we all changed into sweats and comfy clothes before returning to the living room for our party.

We stayed up until the early hours of the morning before crashing and falling asleep, sprawled across the living room floor and furniture.


	23. Chapter 23

**A/N:Well, folks. This is the last regular chapter of the story. I'll see you all next week with the epilogue. Thanks so much for reading/reviewing, and a huge thanks to my beta, Heather, for her help in fixing this chapter.**

* * *

"Two more days!" Eric yelled loudly as we crossed the parking lot, and I let out a laugh at his exuberance, but I was just as excited as he was.

I was more than ready for summer vacation, and I couldn't wait to spend as much time as I could with Edward. Plus, I was ready to spend some camping time with Dad, and I was planning to visit Mom for a week or two in West Virginia.

"Any plans for the summer?" I asked him as we climbed into my jeep. I was giving him a ride home since his car was out of commission.

"Working and maybe visiting some relatives out east," he told me before asking me what I was up to.

I shrugged before replying.

"Spending time with Edward, going camping, and visiting my mom."

After dropping, Eric off, I made a quick stop at the grocery store to gather the ingredients for the brownies I was making for Emmett and Rose's graduation party.

I was secretly glad that they weren't going far for college, only a few hours away in Seattle, because I'd become really good friends with both of them, and I was going to miss hanging out with them on the weekends.

I was just grabbing the last of my ingredients when I almost crashed into Jessica. She was about five months along, and we hadn't spoken much lately. Come to think of it, she didn't speak much to anyone anymore except Mike, and occasionally, Lauren.

"Oh, sorry, Jessica," I said quietly, and she gave me a small smile that didn't reach her eyes. She looked tired and sad, and I felt quite bad for her.

"How are you?" I asked, trying to break up the awkward silence that had fallen between us.

"I'm okay," she said. "You?"

"Ready for the school year to be over," I told her, and she nodded her head in agreement, and I was sure she was ready for it to be done. Most of the gossip had died down regarding her situation, but she still got looks in the hallway.

I wasn't sure what her plans for next year were, but considering she was due sometime around October, I wouldn't be surprised if she didn't come back to school.

We talked for a few more minutes, and I smiled when Mike came over and wrapped an arm around Jessica. I was glad to see that he hadn't ditched her when he'd found out she was pregnant. Now, I wasn't Mike's biggest fan, but the fact that he was sticking around made me like him just a tad bit more.

I said goodbye to them before checking out and going out to my car for the short drive home.

I grinned when I pulled into my driveway and saw Edward's Volvo parked alongside my dad's police cruiser.

"What in the world are you doing here?" I asked Edward as I carried the bags into the kitchen.

"They let us out early, so I thought I'd stop by," he said with a smile, and I certainly wasn't going to complain.

"What's all this?" Dad asked, poking through the bags I'd set on the counter.

"Stuff for Emmett and Rose's graduation party this weekend," I told him. "Don't worry. I'll make enough for us as well."

Dad grilled burgers for dinner, and the three of us sat around eating and watching some sports game that was on TV. I didn't really pay too much attention to it, but it was fun spending time with my two guys.

An hour after dinner, Dad's phone rang, and a frown formed on his face as he listened to whomever was talking to him.

"Sorry, kids. I gotta run. That was the station," Dad said as he unlocked the gun box in the hallway closet and strapped on his gun. "Don't stay up too late."

"I won't," I promised before Edward told him that he needed to be home by nine.

As soon as the door was shut and locked, Edward and I were all over each other. It felt like it had been forever since we'd gotten any good quality make out time. For the past week, we'd been constantly interrupted or busy hanging out with our friends or his siblings, and while there had been kisses here and there, there had been no major lip lockage.

"God, I've missed your lips," I told Edward in between kisses, and he let out a small chuckle before pressing his lips more firmly against mine.

It didn't take long before we found our way upstairs to my room, and our shirts and my bra had been tossed to the wayside.

I found myself on my back with Edward on top of me, his lips paying homage to one of my breast while thrusting gently against me.

Our physical relationship had moved forward a bit, but we still hadn't had sex.

"God, Edward," I said with a moan as my fingers delved into his hair and held him tighter to me.

"Like that do you?" he asked, pulling his mouth away from my nipple, and I groaned at the loss of his lips on my body.

"I think that's more than obvious," I said with a grin before pulling his face up to mine for a kiss.

His lips brushed gently against mine before things quickly became heated again. As we kissed, Edward lowered down on his arms and settled more firmly between my legs, and I spread my legs a little wider to accommodate him.

He began to gently thrust up against me, and I let out a low moan as he hit just the right place. It didn't take long for me to start seeing stars as I rocked against his thrusting hips.

"Bella!" Edward growled as he thrust a few more times before collapsing on top of me.

I wrapped my arms around him and held him close as our breathing steadied, and a few minutes later, Edward rolled off of me and got up.

I loved the light blush that always crept up on his cheeks after he'd finished and had to go clean up.

Once he came back into the room, I excused myself and went to clean up as well. Done with that, we spent the next hour, hanging out in my room and watching a movie on my laptop.

"Love you," he said against my lips as I walked him to the door.

"Love you, too," I replied, giving him one last kiss before he left.

* * *

"So where are we off to this summer?" I asked Dad a week after school had ended.

"How do you feel about Alaska?" he asked, and my mouth dropped open. I'd always wanted to go to Alaska, but I never thought I'd get the opportunity.

"Seriously? I'd love to go to Alaska!" I practically shouted at him.

"Excellent," Dad said with a grin. "I've invited Sue and Seth to join us, and we'll be leaving around the end of June."

"Woot!" I said before standing up and doing a little dance. I was beyond ecstatic and I couldn't wait to tell Edward.

"Guess where I'm going next month?" I asked Edward the second he answered.

"Alaska, maybe?" he guessed, and my mouth dropped open.

"How did you know?"

"Because we're going with," he said, and I let out an Alice-like squeal. Now, I was even more excited to go to Alaska because I was going to get to enjoy an amazing experience with my boyfriend and some of my closest friends, not to mention my dad, Sue, and Seth.

The next couple of weeks dragged by, and finally, it was time for our trip to Alaska. There had been many long discussions amongst the parental units, regarding driving versus flying. It was one hell of a drive to Juneau, around forty-one hours, while the flight from Seattle was roughly three hours nonstop. Personally, I didn't see why there was a debate. I'd much rather fly than be in a car for over three days.

"Ready?" Edward asked a while later as we drove with my dad, Sue, and Seth toward the airport in Seattle.

"Definitely! You?"

He nodded with a huge grin on his face, and several hours later, that grin was still on his face as the pilot announced our arrival in Juneau.

We all deplane and made our way to the baggage claim before going toward the car rental desk. Dad and Carlisle had decided that instead of camping in tents the whole time, we'd stay in a cabin that they'd found that sleeps twelve people which was perfect since there was eleven of us.

Once Dad and Carlisle were done, we went out to the parking lot and found the two rental SUVs that would take us to our cabin.

The whole drive there, I couldn't help but take pictures out the window with the new camera Dad bought me for the trip.

"You're gonna use up your whole memory card before we even get there," Seth said from the seat behind me, and I rolled my eyes at him before informing him that I had plenty of memory cards, and I wasn't kidding. I had about four of them with me, and I'd brought my laptop so I could upload my pictures to Facebook and send them to my mom as well.

Fifteen minutes later, we were pulling into the driveway of a large house on the water, and I was stunned by the beauty that surrounded us. There were wild flowers growing everywhere, trees swaying in the wind, and the water gleamed. I didn't think I'd been anywhere more beautiful.

The inside of the cabin was just as pretty as the outside, and Rose, Alice, and I found a room with a twin bed and bunk beds and claimed it as ours. Jasper and Edward claimed the room next to ours, leaving Seth and Emmett to take a room at the end of the hall. All of the parents would be upstairs on the third floor where there were two master suites.

The girls and I tossed our bags on the floor of our room before dashing to check out the rest of the cabin. The boys met us in the hallway, and we spent a good thirty or so minutes, exploring the cabin before making our way outside.

There was a beautiful deck with a fire pit and several Adirondack chairs as well as a few canoes and kayaks.

"This is the Gastineau Channel," Carlisle said from behind us. "And over there is the Chilkat Mountain Range, and to the right is the Mendenhall Glacier."

"Google?" Edward asked, and Carlisle grinned.

"No. The owners left a description of the cabin and its surroundings on the small table in the entryway."

While Carlisle and Edward talked, I pulled the camera out of my pocket and began taking pictures of our surroundings as well as the people standing around me.

"You up for a canoe trip with Sue and Seth in the morning, Bells?" Dad asked, and I nodded eagerly.

Later that night after dinner, we discussed our plans for the two weeks that we would be in Alaska. There would be whale watching tours, hiking, canoeing, and plenty of relaxation. It was still chilly, despite it being the end of June, so sunbathing and swimming were pretty much out. Although, I was willing to risk a little chill to say I went swimming in Alaska.

* * *

"Back paddle, Edward!" I hollered as the two of us were canoeing in the channel not far from the cabin.

"I'm trying," he yelled back, but I knew it was useless. We were going to hit the log that was floating in the water, and I braced myself for the impact.

Canoeing with Edward was quite the experience. He swore he knew what he was doing, but I was beginning to think he didn't have a clue.

Sure enough, we hit the log, and the canoe began to tip. I tried to keep us upright since the water was freaking freezing as I had discovered the other day. I'd decided to take a dip in the water the previous afternoon when the temperature had hit a high of 68. The water had been a little over 50 degrees, if even that, and I hadn't lasted long in it.

"Fuck!" I squealed as we tipped over, and I looked over at Edward who was laughing like a loon while treading water to stay afloat.

"Stop laughing, and help me right this thing before we get hypothermia," I said through teeth that were beginning to chatter.

It was a struggle, but we managed to get the canoe righted, and then we had the pleasure of trying to get back into the damn thing without tipping it back over.

It took forever, and by the time we returned back to shore, I was freezing and pretty sure my lips were blue.

"Let's get you warmed up," Edward said, wrapping an arm around me as he led me back into the cabin.

"What in the world?" Sue asked as we came in through the backdoor.

"Edward tipped the canoe," I said, and Edward rolled his eyes and chuckled before Sue shooed us out of the room and told us to take hot showers to warm up and she'd make us some tea.

…..

The two weeks in Alaska passed by far too quickly, but it had been a blast. I'd loved spending time with everyone, and Edward and I had even managed to sneak off for some kisses and quality couple time.

I'd taken a million pictures and sent postcards to everyone I knew, including the Cullens, even though they were there with me.

A couple days after we got back to Washington, the six of us went to First Beach on the La Push reservation for the bonfire party they were holding. Dad was going as well to meet up with Sue, and I had noticed that things between them were getting really serious. I'd heard Dad telling her he loved her, and I was hoping that he'd pop the question soon.

"You made it!" Seth hollered as he came running across the sand to greet us and wrapped me up in a huge hug that lifted me off my feet.

"Of course," I said with a laugh as Seth set me back down on my feet. "We said we'd be here."

We followed Seth over to the bonfire and got the surprise of our lives when we saw Tanya there. She was sitting next to some Native American guy that Seth introduced as Embry. We waved to them as we took a seat on a log on the opposite side of the fire, but I didn't want to really spend any time with her, and she seemed to feel the same way.

We sat around talking with Seth and his friends before Edward and I decided to go for a walk along the beach.

We slipped off our shoes before making our way to the shoreline where we clasped hands and enjoyed the feel of the sand under our bare feet.

I wasn't sure how far we'd walked, but we eventually stopped to look at a few of the tide pools that were nestled in the crevices of some rocks.

"It's gorgeous out here," I told Edward as I bent down to get a closer look at the starfish and seashells residing in the small pools of water.

"So are you," he said, and as I looked up at him, my breath was taken away by the love I saw in his eyes. In that moment, I wanted him more than anything, but I also knew I didn't want to lose my virginity on a sandy beach with family and friends nearby.

"Are you okay?" he asked me, and I nodded my head before standing up and reaching out for him.

He pulled me into a hug, and I held onto him tightly before pressing a kiss to his cheek.

"We should probably get back," I told him, and he nodded.

"Are you sure you're okay?" he asked once more, and I told him I was.

"Okay," he said with a smile before challenging me to a race back to the bonfire.


	24. Chapter 24

**A/N: Another story is coming to an end. I always feel a bit sad when that happens, but I've got some other stories in the works. A huge thanks to all of you for reading/reviewing, and a huge thanks to my beta for her awesome skills. I've tweaked this a bit, so forgive the errors that might be in here.**

* * *

One week. In one week, I would start college at Oregon State University with Edward by my side, and it seemed as if the past year had flown by.

Edward and I had consummated our relationship not long after our first bonfire at First Beach the summer of senior year, and we'd only become closer since.

When it had come time to pick colleges, neither of us had any idea where we wanted to go but neither of us wanted to stray too far from home.

In the end, it came down to schools that had good reputations for the areas of study in which we were interested. I'd decided that I wanted to do something in the forestry industry while Edward was thinking about a degree in either earth science or teaching.

Alice and Jasper were moving far away from home and going to college in Georgia. Alice had gotten accepted to the Savannah College of Arts and Design where she was going to study fashion, and Jasper would be attending Savannah State University.

I was having a hard time dealing with the fact that my best friend was going to be so far away. Actually, all of my good friends were going someplace different. Angela and Ben were going to California while Eric was making his way to New York City.

I knew that we'd keep in touch, but it wouldn't be the same as seeing them every day or almost every day. And, I was afraid that we would get so busy that we wouldn't keep in touch and that our friendship would fall apart.

"Did you finish packing?" Dad asked, interrupting my thoughts, and I looked up at him as he stood in the doorway to my room.

"Almost," I told him as I took a look around my room.

Dad had wanted to drive me to Oregon, but I'd told him I would be fine. Edward and I were going together, we'd rented a small U-Haul to carry all of our stuff.

Sadly, since we were freshman, we'd be living in the dorm for our first year, and I wasn't looking forward to it at all. When I'd found that out, Dad had offered to pay extra for me to have a single room, and I'd gladly taken him up on the offer. I had no desire to live with a stranger to with whom you may or may not get along. Edward, on the other hand, had gone the roommate route, and he'd been in contact with the guy, Alec, for the past couple of months. Edward thought his roommate sounded nice, and I certainly hoped so for Edward's sake.

"I can't believe you're leaving for college," Dad said quietly, and I couldn't help but hug the man.

"I'll call and come home for the holidays," I promised, and Dad nodded.

* * *

"So, how was your first day?" I asked Edward as we met up for dinner after our first day of classes.

Our schedules weren't compatible at all. So, we had promised that we'd eat dinner together every night so that we'd at least get to see each other for a bit.

"Not too awful," he told me around a mouthful of pizza. "You?"

"Same," I said with a shrug. "A couple of my classes seem really cool. They do trips out to the forest preserve and stuff, so that's exciting."

After that, an uncomfortable silence fell between us as we ate, and as we tossed our trash and made our way out the door of the cafeteria, I felt like something was off.

We didn't talk much as we made our way back to the dormitory where we both lived.

"Why is this weird?" I blurted out as we stopped in front of the doors to the building.

"I don't know," Edward said, running a hand through his hair. "It shouldn't be."

"I know. It's …." I trailed off because I couldn't explain why things were suddenly weird.

"Yeah," Edward agreed softly. "Come here."

I walked into his open arms, lying my head on his shoulder as he wrapped his arms around me.

"We'll figure this out," he swore. "Things feel weird probably because we're in a new city, a new state, away from home, and on our own. As long as we talk, we can get through this weirdness."

I nodded before pulling away and placing a kiss on his lips. He was right. We would get through this, just like we'd gotten through everything else.

"Want to come to my room for a while?" he asked.

"Sure."

We took the elevator up to the fifth floor and walked down the hall to Edward's room. He unlocked the door, and I glanced around the room curiously. I hadn't seen the room since Edward's roommate had moved in.

"Wow," I muttered as I stared at the room. I was a fairly neat person, but this guy gave new meaning to the word neat freak. Nothing was out of place. His shoes were neatly lined up by style and color, and I bet the clothes hanging in his closet were the same. There were also little hand sanitizer bottles on every flat surface

"Yeah," Edward said, shoving his hands in his pocket. "Sometimes, I feel like he's constantly judging me because I don't make my bed every day."

"I'm sure he's not," I told him before we made our way to said bed and sat down on it.

It didn't take long before Edward was cuddled up next to me and we were making out. Though, not long after that, we heard the key in the lock, and a short guy with extremely pale skin and dark brown hair walked in with a young woman by his side.

"Excuse me," he said in a cool, polite tone, and I blushed a bright red as I sat up and smoothed my hair down.

"Sorry," Edward said before getting off the bed and introducing me to his roommate, Alec English.

"It's nice to meet you," I told him, holding out a hand which he looked at with disdain before informing me that he didn't shake hands with people.

"The number of pathogens passed by shaking hands is staggering," he told me in a haughty voice, so I settled for a small wave instead.

"This is my sister, Jane," he told us, and we both waved to her as well before Alec asked to speak to Edward privately.

I excused myself and left the room with Jane behind me. I was beyond curious as to what Alec wanted to talk to Edward about.

"So, are you from here?" I asked Jane as I leaned against the wall.

"No."

"Me either. I'm from Forks, Washington," I told her, trying to start a conversation and failing miserably. She didn't seem to have any inclination to talk to me at all.

Thankfully, the door to Edward's room opened soon, and Alec walked out, giving me a cool glance before making his way down the hallway with his sister.

I dashed into the room and saw Edward sitting at his desk with a slightly perplexed and stunned look on his face.

"Talk to me," I demanded as I plopped down on his bed.

"Alec is very proper," he began. "He was offended to walk in and find us kissing in a room that he and I share. He asked that if we are going to behave in such a manner, that we do it elsewhere."

I stared at Edward, unable to believe what I was hearing.

"Oh, and then Alec proceeded to tell me that eighty million bacteria can spread through a ten second french kiss and that you and I need to be more careful."

I wrinkled my nose at that bit of information. I could have definitely gone without out knowing how much bacteria was being swapped between the two of us.

"Lovely. Well, I guess it's a good thing I have a single. No germaphobic roommates to bother us."

* * *

**…..Four Years Later…..**

"How the hell have the past four years gone by so fast?" Edward asked me as we lay on our bed in the apartment we'd moved into sophomore year.

Halfway through freshman year, Edward and Alec had gotten into a verbal shouting match that had almost led to a physical fight. Edward had moved out and into a different room with a new roommate who'd been a total stoner. After that, Edward was sick of the dorms, and Esme and Carlisle had been more than willing to get Edward an apartment, and he'd asked me to move in with him.

"I don't know, but it's kind of scary. We're going to be going out into the real world with grown up jobs," I said, rolling over to look at him.

"We'll be fine," he said, placing a kiss on my lips.

"Well, you'll be fine. You've done four interviews. I've yet to find anything," I pouted.

Edward had sent out his resume to a bunch of schools in Washington, both of us having decided to move back there after graduation.

"Just because I've done interviews doesn't mean I'll get the job," he reminded me, but I rolled my eyes. There was no doubt in my mind Edward would be offered at least three of the four jobs he'd applied for.

Two days later, I was proven right. Edward had been offered jobs in Seattle, Port Townsend, and Olympia.

"I don't know which one to accept," he mumbled as he sat on the couch. "Seattle and Olympia pay higher than Port Townsend, but I don't really like living in a big city."

"Then I think you've made your decision."

"What do you think?" he asked, and I told him I was on board with whatever decision he made. I wanted him to be happy, and I liked both the big city and small town life, so I had no problem with moving to Port Townsend, and I told him so.

He let out a sigh of relief before calling the principal at the Port Townsend High School, letting him know that he would accept the job. Edward would be teaching earth science to freshmen and sophomores and biology to the juniors and seniors.

We called our parents a few hours later to let them know we'd be moving to Port Townsend, so then the hunt was on to find a place to live. Not that we didn't already have a bunch of other stuff to do besides finding a place to live.

Edward and I had gotten engaged over spring break while we'd been vacationing in the Outer Banks in North Carolina. We had been strolling along the beach in the moonlight when he had dropped down on one knee in the sand and asked me to marry him. Despite the fact that we had talked about marriage many times, his proposal had still surprised me. Of course, I'd said yes, and after we'd told our family and friends, the planning of our wedding had begun.

We were getting married in a small ceremony in July, and while most of the details had been figured out, there was still some stuff to do. Not to mention that Alice and Jasper were getting married in three weeks before moving to New York City. Rose and Emmett had gotten married their junior year of college when they'd found out that Rose was pregnant, and their two year old daughter, Roxanne, or Roxy as we called her, was absolutely adorable.

"Ugh," I complained several hours later. "I'm so tired of apartment life. I want a house!"

Edward grinned at me, but there was something almost secret-like in that grin, and I narrowed my eyes at him.

"Spill, Cullen."

"Spill what?" he asked innocently.

"Whatever secret it is that you're keeping."

He refused to tell me, but I found out on graduation day. His parents had decided to buy all of their kids a house as a wedding present. They'd bought Emmett and Rose a house in Port Angeles, and were buying Jasper and Alice a condo. I knew that couldn't be cheap, seeing as how it was in New York City. Even though I'd done my best to argue against them buying us a house. Esme had shut me down.

In the end though, Edward and I found a gorgeous four bedroom house near the water. I'd fallen in love with the house and its views even though it had been a bit pricey. I'd told Edward we should find something else, but he'd refused, and his parents had spent, what I felt, was a small fortune on it.

Not long after we'd married and moved in, I'd gotten a job as a forest ranger at the Fort Warden State park, a few miles from our new home, and I loved it.

* * *

**a/n: Don't worry. This isn't the end. There's one more epilogue coming your way. I'll do my best to get it out this week.**


	25. Chapter 25

**A/N: Here it is. The final chapter of this little story. Thank you all so much for coming along for the ride. I've got a couple of new stories in the works, but it will be a few months before I start posting.**

**As always, thanks so much for reading and reviewing, and a huge thanks to my beta, Heather, for sticking with me.**

* * *

…**Five Years Later….**

"Daddy!" a tiny voice screamed, and I looked out the bay window to see Edward chasing our three-year-old son, Simon, around the backyard, and I grinned as I watched them.

Simon had come as a bit of a surprise to us a year after our wedding, but we loved our little boy to pieces. Two years later, we'd had our youngest son, Noah, who adored his big brother.

Getting up and checking that Noah was safe and occupied while playing with some toys in the living room, I opened the back door and hollered for them to come inside to get cleaned up. Esme was hosting a birthday party for Noah and Jasper and Alice's son, Levi, who'd been born on the same day but a year earlier.

Edward swooped Simon up, tickling him so our boy was a giggling, panting mess by the time they came in the door.

"Give him a quick bath please?" I asked because Simon was covered in grass stains and dirt from rolling around in the yard with his daddy.

"You bet," Edward said, leaning down and placing a kiss on my lips which was interrupted by Simon asking for a smooch as well.

I placed a kiss on my boy's cheek before sending him and his daddy on their way.

Four hours later, we were pulling into the driveway of the Cullen House, and I let out a laugh when Roxy, who was now seven, came running out to the car. She loved playing with Simon although she had a tendency to be a bit bossy just like her mother.

Once we were inside, hugs and kisses were exchanged, especially when it came to Alice, Jasper, and their two children, Levi, who was two, and Avery, who was six months. They still lived in New York, so we tended to see them only on the holidays.

"So, we've got some news," Alice said a little while later over a late lunch.

"Pregnant again?" Esme asked, and Alice shook her head before informing us that they were moving to Seattle. She was going to be opening an office for her company and had been placed in charge.

"That's great!" I practically screamed as I reached over and gave her a hug. I was so glad that I'd get to see her a bit more regularly than before.

"Well, we're pregnant again," Emmett boomed out after the excitement had settled down which, of course, led to more shouts of joy.

They already had three kids, Roxy, Xavier, and Sage, and I couldn't imagine having four kids, but that was just me. I was perfectly content with my two.

A little bit after lunch, Dad pulled me aside to give me an update on James. Ever since James had gone to jail for breaking and entering, Dad had kept track of him and kept me informed. There had been one time during my freshmen year of college that James had shown up outside my dad's house when I was home on break, and then I'd seen him a couple of times after we'd moved to Port Townsend. I'd called not only Dad but the local police as well. Dad had hunted James down and threatened to shoot him, and he'd been dead serious. I think James must have known that because he never bothered me again.

"I just wanted to let you know that James was killed last week."

"What? How?" I asked.

"He pissed off the wrong guy and got shot."

I honestly couldn't say that I was upset or surprised in the slightest. James had lived a stupid and dangerous life, and it had finally caught up with him.

"At least now I don't have to worry about him bothering me."

"Yep," Dad replied before dropping a kiss to my forehead and going off to play with his grandsons in the backyard.

The talk about James had me thinking about Tanya as I sat on the back porch and watched my dad play with my kids. Tanya had been married and divorced three times, and after her last divorce, she had somehow gotten Edward's cell phone number, and called, wanting to see him. Edward had politely declined, but not one to ever take a hint, she began leaving him a series of suggestive voicemails and texts. Needless to say, Edward had to change his number but not before threatening her with a restraining order. That was eight months ago, and we hadn't heard from her since. I hoped it stayed that way. We were happy, and the last thing I wanted was her trying to come between us again.

"What's got you thinking so hard?" Edward asked, sitting down beside me and wrapping an arm around my shoulders.

"Dad told me that James was killed."

Edward wasn't all that surprised to hear the news. He was just as glad as I was that James was officially out of our lives.

"And that led me to thinking about Tanya," I continued, which had Edward wrinkling his nose as he made a face.

"That woman needs to leave me alone," he said with a huff, and I leaned up to kiss his cheek.

"I agree. I don't want to go to prison for murdering her," I said with a scowl which led to Edward letting out a chuckle.

"She's not worth it."

He was right.

"So, Jessica and Mike are finally getting married," Rose said, sitting down in the rocking chair that was on the porch.

I was surprised that Jessica and Mike were still together after all this time. They'd had some rough times after their daughter, Claire, was born, and they'd even broken up a couple of times.

"She's pregnant again," Rose told us, "and she told Mike that if he didn't marry her, then she was done."

"Wow," I muttered. I'd only seen her a couple of times over the past nine years, and each time, she hadn't seemed too happy. I hoped that things worked out for her in the end.

"Speaking of pregnancies, Angela and Ben are having another one," I told Rose and Alice, who had wandered over.

"Really?" Alice squealed. "That's fantastic!"

"I think they're crazy," I said with a grin. Angela and Ben already had four kids, but they'd both wanted a big family and were well on their way to having one.

The rest of our evening was spent talking, laughing, and gossiping a bit. The boys devoured the cake that Esme had baked, and there had been squeals of delight when presents were opened. It was home and family, and I loved every minute of it.

* * *

**a/n: The end. Another story comes to a close. I'll see you all in late October or early November with my new story!**


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